BOOK IV.

"A virtuous woman is man's greatest pride."--SIMONIDES.



CHAPTER I.

ABROAD uneasy, nor content at home.
. . . . . .
And Wisdom shows the ill without the cure.

HAMMOND: _Elegies_.

TWO or three days after the interview between Lord Vargrave and
Maltravers, the solitude of Burleigh was relieved by the arrival of Mr.
Cleveland. The good old gentleman, when free from attacks of the gout,
which were now somewhat more frequent than formerly, was the same
cheerful and intelligent person as ever. Amiable, urbane, accomplished,
and benevolent, there was just enough worldliness in Cleveland's nature
to make his views sensible as far as they went, but to bound their scope.
Everything he said was so rational; and yet, to an imaginative person,
his conversation was unsatisfactory, and his philosophy somewhat
chilling.

"I cannot say how pleased and surprised I am at your care of the fine old
place," said he to Maltravers, as, leaning on his cane and his
_ci-devant_ pupil's arm, he loitered observantly through the grounds; "I
see everywhere the presence of the Master."