‘I have failed,’ thought Albinia, as he left the room.  ’He decides that I have failed in bringing up his children.  What have I done?  Have I been mistaken? have I been careless? have I not prayed enough?  Oh! my poor, poor Sophy!  What will she do among strange girls?  Oh! how wretched, how harsh, how misunderstood she will be!  She will grow worse and worse, and just when I do think I might have begun to get at her!  And it is for my sake!  For me that her father is set against her, and is driving her out from her home!  Oh! what shall I do?  Winifred will promote it, because they all think I am doing too much!  I wonder what put that in Edmund’s head?  But when he speaks in that way, I have no hope!’

Mr. Kendal’s anger took a direction with which she better sympathized when he walked down Tibbs’s Alley, and counted the nine beer shops, which had never dawned on his imagination, and which so greatly shocked it, that he went straight to the astonished Pettilove, and gave him a severe reprimand for allowing the houses to be made dens of iniquity and disorder.

He was at home in time to meet the doctor, and hear that Maurice had suffered not the smallest damage; and then to make another ineffectual attempt to persuade Albinia to consign Sophy to imprisonment with Aunt Maria; after which he drove off very much against his will with Lucy and Gilbert, both declaring that they did not care a rush to go to Fairmead under the present circumstances.

Albinia had a sad, sore sense of failure, and almost of guilt, as she lingered on the door-step after seeing them set off.  The education of ‘Edmund’s children’ had been a cherished vision, and it had resulted so differently from her expectations, that her heart sank.  With Gilbert there was indeed no lack of love and confidence, but there was a sad lurking sense of his want of force of character, and she had avowedly been insufficient to preserve him from temptation; Lucy, whom externally she had the most altered, was not of a nature accordant enough with her own for her to believe the effects deep or permanent; and Sophia—­poor Sophia!  Had what was kindly called forbearance been really neglect and want of moral courage?  Would a gentler, less eager person have won instead of repelling confidence?  Had her multiplicity of occupations made her give but divided attention to the more important home duty.  Alas! alas! she only knew that her husband thought his daughter beyond her management, and for that very reason she would have given worlds to retain the uncouth, perverse girl under her charge.

She stood loitering, for the sound of the river and the shade of the willows were pleasant on the glowing July day, and having made all her arrangements for going from home, she had no pressing employment, and thus she waited, musing as she seldom allowed herself time to do, and thinking over each phase of her conduct towards Sophy, in the endeavour to detect the mistake; and throughout came, not exactly answering her query, but throwing a light upon it, her brother’s warning, that if she did not resign herself to rest quietly when rest was forced upon her, she would work amiss when she did work.