第115章

“ByGod，youareagoodfeller，sir。”wasallMr。Os-

bornesaid。Ithadneverstruckhimthatthewidowwouldfeelanypainatpartingfromtheboy，orthathishavingafinefortunecouldgrieveher。Areconciliationwasannouncedasspeedyandinevitable，andAmelia’sheartalreadybegantobeatatthenotionoftheawfulmeetingwithGeorge’sfather。

Itwasnever，however，destinedtotakeplace。OldSedley’slingeringillnessanddeathsupervened，afterwhichameetingwasforsometimeimpossible。ThatcatastropheandothereventsmayhaveworkeduponMr。

Osborne。Hewasmuchshakenoflate，andaged，andhismindwasworkinginwardly。Hehadsentforhislawyers，andprobablychangedsomethinginhiswill。Themedicalmanwholookedinpronouncedhimshaky，agitated，andtalkedofalittlebloodandtheseaside；buthetookneitheroftheseremedies。

Onedaywhenheshouldhavecomedowntobreakfast，hisservantmissinghim，wentintohisdressing-roomandfoundhimlyingatthefootofthedressing-tableinafit。MissOsbornewasapprised；thedoctorsweresentfor；Georgystoppedawayfromschool；thebleedersandcupperscame。Osbornepartiallyregainedcognizance，butnevercouldspeakagain，thoughhetrieddreadfullyonceortwice，andinfourdayshedied。Thedoctorswentdown，andtheundertaker’smenwentupthestairs，andalltheshutterswereshuttowardsthegardeninRussellSquare。BullockrushedfromtheCityinahurry。”Howmuchmoneyhadhelefttothatboy？

Nothalf，surely？Surelyshareandsharealikebetweenthethree？”Itwasanagitatingmoment。

Whatwasitthatpooroldmantriedonceortwiceinvaintosay？IhopeitwasthathewantedtoseeAmeliaandbereconciledbeforehelefttheworldtoonedearandfaithfulwifeofhisson：itwasmostlikelythat，forhiswillshowedthatthehatredwhichhehadsolongcherishedhadgoneoutofhisheart。

Theyfoundinthepocketofhisdressing-gowntheletterwiththegreatredsealwhichGeorgehadwrittenhimfromWaterloo。Hehadlookedattheotherpaperstoo，relativetohisson，forthekeyoftheboxinwhichhekeptthemwasalsoinhispocket，anditwasfoundthesealsandenvelopeshadbeenbroken——verylikelyonthenightbeforetheseizure——whenthebutlerhadtakenhimteaintohisstudy，andfoundhimreadinginthegreatredfamilyBible。

Whenthewillwasopened，itwasfoundthathalfthepropertywaslefttoGeorge，andtheremainderbetweenthetwosisters。Mr。Bullocktocontinue，fortheirjointbenefit，theaffairsofthecommercialhouse，ortogoout，ashethoughtfit。Anannuityoffivehundredpounds，chargeableonGeorge’sproperty，waslefttohismother。”thewidowofmybelovedson，GeorgeOsborne。”whowastoresumetheguardianshipoftheboy。

“MajorWilliamDobbin，mybelovedson’sfriend。”wasappointedexecutor；“andasoutofhiskindnessandbounty，andwithhisownprivatefunds，hemaintainedmygrandsonandmyson’swidow，whentheywereotherwisewithoutmeansofsupport“(thetestatorwentontosay)“Iherebythankhimheartilyforhisloveandregardforthem，andbeseechhimtoacceptsuchasumasmaybesufficienttopurchasehiscommissionasaLieutenant-Colonel，ortobedisposedofinanywayhemaythinkfit。”

WhenAmeliaheardthatherfather-in-lawwasreconciledtoher，herheartmelted，andshewasgratefulforthefortunelefttoher。ButwhensheheardhowGeorgywasrestoredtoher，andknewhowandbywhom，andhowitwasWilliam’sbountythatsupportedherinpoverty，howitwasWilliamwhogaveherherhusbandandherson——oh，thenshesankonherknees，andprayedforblessingsonthatconstantandkindheart；

sheboweddownandhumbledherself，andkissedthefeet，asitwere，ofthatbeautifulandgenerousaffection。

Andgratitudewasallthatshehadtopaybackforsuchadmirabledevotionandbenefits——onlygratitude！Ifshethoughtofanyotherreturn，theimageofGeorgestoodupoutofthegraveandsaid，“Youaremine，andmineonly，nowandforever。”

Williamknewherfeelings：hadhenotpassedhiswholelifeindiviningthem？

WhenthenatureofMr。Osborne’swillbecameknowntotheworld，itwasedifyingtoremarkhowMrs。GeorgeOsborneroseintheestimationofthepeopleforminghercircleofacquaintance。TheservantsofJos’sestablishment，whousedtoquestionherhumbleordersandsaytheywould“askMaster“whetherornottheycouldobey，neverthoughtnowofthatsortofappeal。Thecookforgottosneerathershabbyoldgowns(which，indeed，werequiteeclipsedbythatlady’sfinerywhenshewasdressedtogotochurchofaSundayevening)，theothersnolongergrumbledatthesoundofherbell，ordelayedtoanswerthatsummons。Thecoachman，whogrum