Chapter 5 - Page 2

we acknowledge, that the thoughts might be better employed in preparing
for those humiliations, of the spirit and thanksgiving of the heart which
are required of all, and are so necessary to all, we must be indulged in a
hasty view of some of the personages of our history, as they entered the
church of B----.

On the countenance of the baronet, was the dignity and composure of a mind
at peace with itself and mankind. His step was rather more deliberate than
common; his eye rested on the pavement, and on turning into his pew, as he
prepared to kneel, in the first humble petition of our beautiful service,
he raised it towards the altar with an expression of benevolence and
reverence, that spoke contentment, not unmixed with faith.

In the demeanor of Lady Moseley, all was graceful and decent, while
nothing could be properly said to be studied. She followed her husband
with a step of equal deliberation, though it was slightly varied by a
manner which, while it appeared natural to herself, might have been
artificial in another: a cambric handkerchief concealed her face as she
sank composedly by the side of Sir Edward, in a style which showed, that
while she remembered her Maker, she had not entirely forgotten herself.

The walk of Mrs. Wilson was quicker than that of her sister. Her eye,
directed before her, was fixed, as if in settled gaze, on that eternity
which she was approaching. The lines of her contemplative face were
unaltered, unless there might be traced a deeper shade of humility than
was ordinarily seen on her pale, but expressive countenance: her petition
was long; and on rising from her humble posture, the person was indeed to
be seen, but the soul appeared absorbed in contemplations beyond the
limits of this sphere.

There was a restlessness and varying of color, in the ordinarily placid
Clara, which prevented a display of her usual manner; while Jane walked
gracefully, and with a tincture of her mother's manner, by her side. She
stole one hastily withdrawn glance to the deanery pew ere she kneeled, and
then, on rising, handed her smelling-bottle affectionately to her elder
sister.

Emily glided behind her companions with a face beaming with a look of
innocence and love. As she sank in the act of supplication, the rich glow
of her healthful cheek lost some of its brilliancy; but, on rising, it
beamed with a renewed lustre, that plainly indicated a heart touched with
the sanctity of its situation.

In the composed and sedate manner of Mr. Jarvis, as he steadily pursued
his way to the pew of Sir William Harris, you might have been justified
in expecting the entrance of another Sir Edward Moseley in substance, if
not in externals. But the deliberate separation of the flaps of his