She was going to change the whole tenour of her life for the sake,--as she told herself,--of doing her duty by a relative whom she did not even know.

But we may fairly suppose that there had in truth been a feeling beyond that, which taught her to desire to have some one near her to whom she might not only do her duty as guardian, but whom she might also love.
She had tried this with her nephew; but her nephew had been too strong for her, too far from her, too unlike to herself.

When he came to see her he had smoked a short pipe,--which had been shocking to her,--and he had spoken of Reform, and Trades' Unions, and meetings in the parks, as though they had not been Devil's ordinances.

And he was very shy of going to church,--utterly refusing to be taken there twice on the same Sunday.

And he had told his aunt that owing to a peculiar and unfortunate weakness in his constitution he could not listen to the reading of sermons.