“I could not judge otherwise than to find for the Cathedral, as it is an expression of the true faith, built by free men; they both attest to the strength of a people united to a purpose. I can easily understand the reasoning for the Cathedral, although its spire seems an excess to every proportion; however, the motivation for moving the large quantity of immense stones to set them aright in a field in Wiltshire is beyond my comprehension!”

They turned north-eastward and examined the Chute’s great Vyne in Basingstoke, and viewed the remains of Donnington Castle, once in the possession of Geoffery Chaucer’s son and given in dowry for his daughter, the Duchess of Suffolk. Continuing up the Oxford Road, Elizabeth and her husband stopt to see the ancient buildings of the colleges and chapels, and walked along the river in Christchurch meadows to watch the sailing boats and sculls as they raced on the river. Turning homeward, they paused to view the great castle at Warwick, home of the King-maker Earls of Warwick, before concluding that they had incommoded a sufficient number of their peers and others, and were able to return to Pemberley with credit and satisfaction.

CHAP. 15.

MR. AND MRS. DARCY were invited to attend His Grace, the Duke of B———at his seat in Gloucestershire for the racing season at Bibury and Kingscote, to be followed by the sport in Marlborough, and ending with the Epsom Derby in June. Neither of the Darcys was inclined to the activity for the purpose of wagering, but the opportunity to travel southward in April—when the weather in Derbyshire was likely to be capricious—to more a propitious climate and the promise of pleasant company was very welcome, indeed. Georgiana declined to accompany them, as she wished to spend the months remaining in the season with the Earl and his wife, who yet remained in town, and with the Gardiners.

The Duke was a peer of the old stamp. Of the middle age, he was tall, dignified, still very well-looking, hale, hearty, endlessly sociable, and thoroughly good-humoured. In spite of his rank, he was a man whose ideas of pleasure were simple and respectable: hunting, racing, shooting, fishing—in short—anything that could be done out-of-doors with a dog or an horse comprised the pleasures of his hours. Like his peers, he was fond of his wine, and fond of his table; yet unlike many in his sphere of life, he was fond of his own wife, a devoted father to his children (all of whom were the issue of his Duchess), and a kind master to his servants, who neither took liberties nor tolerated the abuse of privilege within his family. His Grace and Mr. Darcy, often together at the various agricultural societies, were in regular, friendly contest as to their abilities as producers of animals, crops, soils, machinery, or anything else that could be grown, devised, or measured and weighed.