 of any woman as a wife until he had ascertained all her
antecedents, from her birth upwards; and the same spirit of caution, directed
inwardly, made him afraid of giving too much pity to Ruth, for fear of the
conclusions to which such a feeling might lead him. But still his old regard for
her, for Leonard, and his esteem and respect for the Bensons, induced him to
lend a willing ear to Jemima's earnest entreaty that he would go and call on Mr.
Benson, in order that she might learn something about the family in general, and
Ruth in particular. It was thus that he came to sit by Mr. Benson's study fire,
and to talk, in an absent way, to that gentleman. How they got on the subject he
did not know, more than one-half of his attention being distracted; but they
were speaking about politics, when Mr. Farquhar learned that Mr. Benson took in
no newspaper.
    »Will you allow me to send you over my Times? I have generally done with it
before twelve o'clock, and after that it is really waste-paper in my house. You
will oblige me by making use of it.«
    »I am sure I am very much obliged to you for thinking of it. But do not
trouble yourself to send it; Leonard can fetch it.«
    »How is Leonard now?« asked Mr. Farquhar, and he tried to speak
indifferently; but a grave look of intelligence clouded his eyes as he looked
for Mr. Benson's answer. »I have not met him lately.«
    »No!« said Mr. Benson, with an expression of pain in his countenance, though
he, too, strove to speak in his usual tone.
    »Leonard is not strong, and we find it difficult to induce him to go much
out-of-doors.«
    There was a little silence for a minute or two, during which Mr. Farquhar
had to check an unbidden sigh. But, suddenly rousing himself into a
determination to change the subject, he said -
    »You will find rather a lengthened account of the exposure of Sir Thomas
Campbell's conduct at Baden. He seems to be a complete blackleg, in spite of his
baronetcy. I fancy the papers are glad to get hold of anything just now.«
    »Who is Sir Thomas Campbell?« asked Mr. Benson.
    »Oh, I thought you might have heard the report - a true one, I believe - of
Mr. Donne's engagement to
