rything is ordered for the best. We must never forget that! And
I'm quite sure that Edwin will be a very great credit to us all, with
help from above."

She proceeded powerfully in this strain. She brought in God, Christ,
and even the Holy Spirit. She mentioned the dangers of the world, and
the disguises of the devil, and the unspeakable advantages of a good
home, and the special goodness of Mr Clayhanger and of Maggie, yes, and
of her little Clara; and the pride which they all had in Edwin, and the
unique opportunities which he had of doing good, by example, and also,
soon, by precept, for others younger than himself would begin to look up
to him; and again her personal pride in him, and her sure faith in him;
and what a solemn hour it was...

Nothing could stop her. The girls loathed these exhibitions. Maggie
always looked at the table during their progress, and she felt as though
she had done something wrong and was ashamed of it. Clara not merely
felt like a criminal--she felt like an unrepentant criminal; she
blushed, she glanced nervously about the room, and all the time she
repeated steadily in her heart a highly obscene word which she had heard
at school. This unspoken word, hurled soundlessly but savagely at her
aunt in that innocent heart, afforded much comfort to Clara in the
affliction. Even Edwin, who was more lenient in all ways than his
sisters, profoundly deplored these moralisings of his aunt. They filled
him with a desire to run fast and far, to be alone at sea, or to be deep
somewhere in the bosom of the earth. He could not understand this side
of his auntie's individuality. But there was no delivery from Mrs
Hamps. The only person who could possibly have delivered them seemed to
enjoy the sinister thraldom. Mr Clayhanger listened with appreciative
and admiring nods; he appeared to be quite sincere. And Edwin could not
understand his father either. "How simple father must be!" he thought
vaguely. Whereas Clara fatalistically dismissed her father's attitude
as only one more of the preposterously unreasonable phenomena which she
was constantly meeting in life; and she persevered grimly with her
obscene word.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

SIX.

"Eh!" said Mrs Hamps enthusiastically, after a trifling pause. "It
does me good when I think what a help you'll be to your father in the
business, with that clever head of yours."

She gazed at