After my Christmas quarter I shall be up in the world
again, and then there will be time to think of the woman you spoke
of--a Connaught woman, did you say?'
When Albinia reported this dialogue to her husband, he was much moved
by this simple self-abnegation.
'There is nothing for it,' he said, 'but to bring him here till
Christmas, and by that time we will take care that the new lodgings
are cheap enough for him. He must not be left to the mercy of old
Goldsmith and his sister!'
Even Albinia was astonished, but Mr. Kendal carried out his
intentions, and went in quest of his new friend; while no one thought
of objecting except grandmamma.
'I suppose, my dear,' she said, 'that you know what Mr. Goldsmith
means to do for this young man.'
'I am sure I don't,' said Albinia.
'Really! Ah! well, I'm an old woman, and I may be wrong, but my poor
dear Mr. Meadows would never encourage a banker's clerk about the
house unless he knew what were his expectations. Irish too! If
there was a thing Mr. Meadows disliked more than another, it was an
Irishman! He said they were all adventurers.'
However, Ulick's first evening at Willow Lawn was on what he called
'a headache day.' He could not have taken a better measure for
overcoming grandmamma's objections. Poor dear Mr. Meadows' worldly
wisdom was not sufficiently native to her to withstand the sight of
anything so pale and suffering, especially as he did not rebel
against answering her close examination, which concluded in her
pronouncing these intermitting attacks to be agueish, and prescribing
quinine.
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