The Professor | Page 6

the tremor with which impatience
would fain have shaken it.
"I thought of my uncles; and as I was engaged in wondering whether
Edward's indifference would equal the cold disdain I had always
experienced from them, I heard the avenue gates open: wheels
approached the house; Mr. Crimsworth was arrived; and after the lapse
of some minutes, and a brief dialogue between himself and his servant
in the hall, his tread drew near the library door--that tread alone

announced the master of the house.
"I still retained some confused recollection of Edward as he was ten
years ago--a tall, wiry, raw youth; NOW, as I rose from my seat and
turned towards the library door, I saw a fine-looking and powerful man,
light-complexioned, well-made, and of athletic proportions; the first
glance made me aware of an air of promptitude and sharpness, shown
as well in his movements as in his port, his eye, and the general
expression of his face. He greeted me with brevity, and, in the moment
of shaking hands, scanned me from head to foot; he took his seat in the
morocco covered arm-chair, and motioned me to another sent.
"'I expected you would have called at the counting-house in the Close,'
said he; and his voice, I noticed, had an abrupt accent, probably
habitual to him; he spoke also with a guttural northern tone, which
sounded harsh in my ears, accustomed to the silvery utterance of the
South.
"'The landlord of the inn, where the coach stopped, directed me here,'
said I. 'I doubted at first the accuracy of his information, not being
aware that you had such a residence as this.'
"'Oh, it is all right!' he replied, 'only I was kept half an hour behind
time, waiting for you--that is all. I thought you must be coming by the
eight o'clock coach.'
"I expressed regret that he had had to wait; he made no answer, but
stirred the fire, as if to cover a movement of impatience; then he
scanned me again.
"I felt an inward satisfaction that I had not, in the first moment of
meeting, betrayed any warmth, any enthusiasm; that I had saluted this
man with a quiet and steady phlegm.
"'Have you quite broken with Tynedale and Seacombe?' he asked
hastily.
"'I do not think I shall have any further communication with them; my

refusal of their proposals will, I fancy, operate as a barrier against all
future intercourse.'
"'Why,' said he, 'I may as well remind you at the very outset of our
connection, that "no man can serve two masters." Acquaintance with
Lord Tynedale will be incompatible with assistance from me.' There
was a kind of gratuitous menace in his eye as he looked at me in
finishing this observation.
"Feeling no disposition to reply to him, I contented myself with an
inward speculation on the differences which exist in the constitution of
men's minds. I do not know what inference Mr. Crimsworth drew from
my silence--whether he considered it a symptom of contumacity or an
evidence of my being cowed by his peremptory manner. After a long
and hard stare at me, he rose sharply from his seat.
"'To-morrow,' said he, 'I shall call your attention to some other points;
but now it is supper time, and Mrs. Crimsworth is probably waiting;
will you come?'
"He strode from the room, and I followed. In crossing the hall, I
wondered what Mrs. Crimsworth might be. 'Is she,' thought I, 'as alien
to what I like as Tynedale, Seacombe, the Misses Seacombe--as the
affectionate relative now striding before me? or is she better than these?
Shall I, in conversing with her, feel free to show something of my real
nature; or --' Further conjectures were arrested by my entrance into the
dining-room.
"A lamp, burning under a shade of ground-glass, showed a handsome
apartment, wainscoted with oak; supper was laid on the table; by the
fire-place, standing as if waiting our entrance, appeared a lady; she was
young, tall, and well shaped; her dress was handsome and fashionable:
so much my first glance sufficed to ascertain. A gay salutation passed
between her and Mr. Crimsworth; she chid him, half playfully, half
poutingly, for being late; her voice (I always take voices into the
account in judging of character) was lively--it indicated, I thought,
good animal spirits. Mr. Crimsworth soon checked her animated
scolding with a kiss--a kiss that still told of the bridegroom (they had

not yet been married a year); she took her seat at the supper-table in
first-rate spirits. Perceiving me, she begged my pardon for not noticing
me before, and then shook hands with me, as ladies do when a flow of
good-humour disposes them to be cheerful to all, even the most
indifferent of their acquaintance. It was