Biddy  found  that  lady  considerably  recovered.  She  was
better,  she  averred,  than  she  had  been  for  several  days,  and
she  and  her  husband  had  come  to  some  sort  of  an  understand-
ing, and  were  exchanging  confidences  on  the  subject  of  Esther.
"  You  see,  my  love,"  Mr.  Hellicar  was  saying,  "  the  world
will  think  hardly  of  us  if  we  cast  oflf  the  girl  entirely.  ITow,
my  dear  Myra,  character  is  a  great  thing ;  there  is  nothing  in
tliis  life  like  character  I "

It  was  a  pity  that   Mr.  Hellicar  had  not  come  to  this

conclusion  earlier,  as  it  was  many  a  year  since  he  had  had

any  character  worth  speaking  oflf ;  and  even  his  wife  knew

that  he  was  very  likely  to  come  to  grief  some  fine  day,  and

bring  disgrace  as  well  as  ruin  upon  all  connected  with  him.
Tlie  commission   business  was  a  very  ciOTT\x^\.m^  OTi^^  ^^


GREY   AND   GOLD.  79

thought,  and  it  was  only  doubtfully  genteeL  He  should
have  been  a  great  contractor,  and  made  railways  in  Eussia,
and  then  he  would  have  done  well,  she  told  herself,  and  they
would  have  been  happy,  and  she  should  have  continued  to
adorn  society,  and  Lizzie  might  have  married  a  real  noble-
man.
