beyond her station; for she was the daughter of a provincial
tradesman. And Philip Beaufort, in the prime of life, was possessed of
most of the qualities that dazzle the eyes and many of the arts that
betray the affections. It was suspected by some that they were privately
married: if so, the secret had been closely kept, and baffled all the
inquiries of the stern old uncle. Still there was much, not only in the
manner, at once modest and dignified, but in the character of Catherine,
which was proud and high-spirited, to give colour to the suspicion.
Beaufort, a man naturally careless of forms, paid her a marked and
punctilious respect; and his attachment was evidently one not only of
passion, but of confidence and esteem. Time developed in her mental
qualities far superior to those of Beaufort, and for these she had
ample leisure of cultivation. To the influence derived from her mind and
person she added that of a frank, affectionate, and winning disposition;
their children cemented the bond between them. Mr. Beaufort was
passionately attached to field sports. He lived the greater part of
the year with Catherine, at the beautiful cottage to which he had built
hunting stables that were the admiration of the county; and though the
cottage was near London, the pleasures of the metropolis seldom allured
him for more than a few days--generally but a few hours-at a time; and
he--always hurried back with renewed relish to what he considered his
home.

Whatever the connection between Catherine and himself (and of the true
nature of that connection, the Introductory Chapter has made the reader
more enlightened than the world), her influence had, at least, weaned
from all excesses, and many follies, a man who, before he knew her,
had seemed likely, from the extreme joviality and carelessness of his
nature, and a very imperfect education, to contract whatever vices were
most in fashion as preservatives against ennui. And if their union had
been openly hallowed by the Church, Philip Beaufort had been universally
esteemed the model of a tender husband and a fond father. Ever, as he
became more and more acquainted with Catherine's natural good qualities,
and more and more attached to his home, had Mr. Beaufort, with the
generosity of true affection, desired to remove from her the pain of
an equivocal condition by a public marriage. But Mr. Beaufort,
though generous, was not free from the worldliness which had met him
everywhere, ami