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Lord Ormont and His Aminta — Volume 5 by George Meredith
page 32 of 86 (37%)
made her one of the gliders in grasses, some of whom are venomous; but
she belonged to the order only as an innocuous blindworm. He could
pronounce her small by-play with Morsfield innocent, her efforts to climb
the stairs into Society quite innocent; judging her, of course, by her
title of woman. A woman's innocence has a rainbow skin. Set this one
beside other women, she comes out well, fairly well, well enough.

Now that the engagement with Charlotte assumed proportions of a series of
battle, properly to be entitled a campaign, he had, in his loneliness,
fallen into the habit of reflecting at the close of his day's work; and
the rubbing of that unused opaque mirror hanging inside a man of action
had helped him piecemeal to perceive bits of his conduct, entirely
approved by him, which were intimately connected, nevertheless, with a
train of circumstances that he disliked and could not charge justly upon
any other shoulders than his own. What was to be thought of it? He
would not be undergoing this botheration of the prolonged attempt to
bring a stubborn woman to a sense of her duty, if he had declared his
marriage in the ordinary style, and given his young countess her
legitimate place before the world. What impeded it? The shameful
ingratitude of his countrymen to the soldier who did it eminent service
at a crisis of the destinies of our Indian Empire! He could not condone
the injury done to him by entering among them again. Too like the kicked
cur, that! He retired--call it 'sulked in his tent,' if you like. His
wife had to share his fortunes. He being slighted, she necessarily was
shadowed. For a while she bore it contentedly enough; then began her
mousy scratches to get into the room off the wainscot, without blame from
him; she behaved according to her female nature.

Yes, but the battles with Charlotte forced on his recognition once more,
and violently, the singular consequences of his retirement and Coriolanus
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