that Mrs. Garth had been a teacher before her marriage; in which case an intimacy with Lindley Murray and Mangnall’s Questions was something like a draper’s discrimination of calico trademarks, or a courier’s acquaintance with foreign countries: no woman who was better off needed that sort of thing. And since Mary had been keeping Mr. Featherstone’s house, Mrs. Vincy’s want of liking for the Garths had been converted into something more positive, by alarm lest Fred should engage himself to this plain girl, whose parents “lived in such a small way.” Fred, being aware of this, never spoke at home of his visits to Mrs. Garth, which had of late become more frequent, the increasing ardor of his affection for Mary inclining him the more towards those who belonged to her.
Mr. Garth had a small office in the town, and to this Fred went with his request. He obtained it without much difficulty, for a large amount of painful experience had not sufficed to make Caleb Garth cautious about his own affairs, or distrustful of his fellow-men when they had not proved themselves untrustworthy; and he had the highest opinion of Fred, was “sure the lad would turn out well—an open affectionate fellow, with a good bottom to his character—you might trust him for anything.”
Such was Caleb’s psychological argument. He was one of those rare men who are rigid to themselves and indulgent to others. He had a certain shame about his neighbors’ errors, and never spoke of them willingly; hence he was not likely to divert his mind from the best mode of hardening timber and other ingenious devices in order to preconceive those errors.
If he had to blame anyone, it was necessary for him to move all the papers within his reach, or describe various diagrams with his stick, or make calculations with the odd money in his pocket, before he could begin; and he would rather do other men’s work than find fault with their doing. I fear he was a bad disciplinarian.