on her to destroy the dried flowers that she treasured, and
always would treasure, for Godfrey Cass's sake. And Nancy was capable of keeping
her word to herself under very trying conditions. Nothing but a becoming blush
betrayed the moving thoughts that urged themselves upon her as she accepted the
seat next to Mr. Crackenthorp; for she was so instinctively neat and adroit in
all her actions, and her pretty lips met each other with such quiet firmness,
that it would have been difficult for her to appear agitated.
    It was not the Rector's practice to let a charming blush pass without an
appropriate compliment. He was not in the least lofty or aristocratic, but
simply a merry-eyed, small-featured, grey-haired man, with his chin propped by
an ample many-creased white neckcloth which seemed to predominate over every
other point in his person, and somehow to impress its peculiar character on his
remarks; so that to have considered his amenities apart from his cravat would
have been a severe, and perhaps a dangerous, effort of abstraction.
    »Ha, Miss Nancy,« he said, turning his head within his cravat and smiling
down pleasantly upon her, »when anybody pretends this has been a severe winter,
I shall tell them I saw the roses blooming on New Year's Eve - eh, Godfrey, what
do you say?«
    Godfrey made no reply, and avoided looking at Nancy very markedly; for
though these complimentary personalities were held to be in excellent taste in
old-fashioned Raveloe society, reverent love has a politeness of its own which
it teaches to men otherwise of small schooling. But the Squire was rather
impatient at Godfrey's showing himself a dull spark in this way. By this
advanced hour of the day, the Squire was always in higher spirits than we have
seen him in at the breakfast-table, and felt it quite pleasant to fulfil the
hereditary duty of being noisily jovial and patronising: the large silver
snuff-box was in active service and was offered without fail to all neighbours
from time to time, however often they might have declined the favour. At
present, the Squire had only given an express welcome to the heads of families
as they appeared; but always as the evening deepened, his hospitality rayed out
more widely, till he had tapped the youngest guests on the back and shown a
peculiar fondness for their presence, in the full belief that they must feel
their lives made happy by their belonging to a parish where there was such a
hearty man as Squire Cass to invite them and wish them well.