would not be an obstruction but a furtherance.  And happening the next day to accompany a patient to Brassing, he saw a dinner-service there which struck him as so exactly the right thing that he bought it at once.  It saved time to do these things just when you thought of them, and Lydgate hated ugly crockery.  The dinner-service in question was expensive, but that might be in the nature of dinner-services.  Furnishing was necessarily expensive; but then it had to be done only once.

“It must be lovely,” said Mrs. Vincy, when Lydgate mentioned his purchase with some descriptive touches.  “Just what Rosy ought to have.  I trust in heaven it won’t be broken!”

“One must hire servants who will not break things,” said Lydgate.  (Certainly, this was reasoning with an imperfect vision of sequences.  But at that period there was no sort of reasoning which was not more or less sanctioned by men of science.)

Of course it was unnecessary to defer the mention of anything to mamma, who did not readily take views that were not cheerful, and being a happy wife herself, had hardly any feeling but pride in her daughter’s marriage.  But Rosamond had good reasons for suggesting to Lydgate that papa should be appealed to in writing.  She prepared for the arrival of the letter by walking with her papa to the warehouse the next morning, and telling him on the way that Mr. Lydgate wished to be married soon.

“Nonsense, my dear!” said Mr. Vincy.  “What has he got to marry on?  You’d much better give up the engagement.  I’ve told you so pretty plainly before this.  What have you had such an education for, if you are to go and marry a poor man?  It’s a cruel thing for a father to see.”

“Mr. Lydgate is not poor, papa.  He bought Mr. Peacock’s practice, which, they say, is worth eight or nine hundred a-year.”

“Stuff and nonsense!  What’s buying a practice?  He might as well buy next year’s swallows.  It’ll all slip through his fingers.”

“On the contrary, papa, he will increase the practice.  See how he has been called in by the Chettams and Casaubons.”

“I hope he knows I shan’t give anything—­with this disappointment about Fred, and Parliament going to be dissolved, and machine-breaking everywhere, and an election coming on—­”

“Dear papa! what can that have to do with my marriage?”

“A pretty deal to do with it!  We may all be ruined for what I know—­ the country’s in that state!  Some say it’s the end of the world, and be hanged if I don’t think it looks like it!  Anyhow, it’s not a time for me to be drawing money out of my business, and I should wish Lydgate to know that.”

“I am sure he expects nothing, papa.  And he has such very high connections:  he is sure to rise in one way or another.  He is engaged in making scientific discoveries.”

Mr. Vincy was silent.

“I cannot give up my only prospect of happiness, papa Mr. Lydgate is a gentleman.  I could never love any one who was not a perfect gentleman.  You would not like me to go into a consumption, as Arabella Hawley did.  And you know that I never change my mind.”