the hardness of heart of Grenoble. With Grenoble obdurate, what would
become of the larger ambitions of Hugh Chiltern?

Mrs. Simpson was indeed a redoubtable lady, whose virtue shone with a
particular high brightness on the Sabbath. Her lamp was brimming with oil
against the judgment day, and she was as one divinely appointed to be the
chastener of the unrighteous. So, at least, Honora beheld her. Her attire
was rich but not gaudy, and had the air of proclaiming the prosperity of
Israel Simpson alone as its unimpeachable source: her nose was long, her
lip slightly marked by a masculine and masterful emblem, and her eyes
protruded in such a manner as to give the impression of watchfulness on
all sides.

It was this watchfulness that our heroine grew to regard as a salient
characteristic. It never slept--even during Mr. Stopford's sermons. She
was aware of it when she entered the church, and she was sure that it
escorted her as far as the carriage on her departure. It seemed to
oppress the congregation. And Honora had an idea that if it could have
been withdrawn, her cruel proscription would have ended. For at times she
thought that she read in the eyes of some of those who made way for her,
friendliness and even compassion.

It was but natural, perhaps, in the situation in which our heroine found
herself, that she should have lost her sense of proportion to the extent
of regarding this lady in the light of a remorseless dragon barring her
only path to peace. And those who might have helped her--if any there
were--feared the dragon as much as she. Mrs. Simpson undoubtedly would
not have relished this characterization, and she is not to have the
opportunity of presenting her side of the case. We are looking at it from
Honora's view, and Honora beheld chimeras. The woman changed, for Honora,