Then the full sympathy of all classes would have been with her; and whether the law shall restore her to a beloved husband, or shall tell her that she has become the victim of a cruel seducer, she would have been supported by the approval and generous regard of all men.' It was thus for the most part that the elderly and the wise spoke and thought about it.

Of course, they pitied her; but they believed all evil of Caldigate, declaring that he too was bound by a feeling of duty to restore the unfortunate one to her father and mother until the matter should have been set at rest by the decision of a jury.
But the people,--especially the people of Utterden and Netherden, and of Chesterton, and even of Cambridge,--were all on the side of Caldigate and Hester as a married couple.

They liked the persistency with which he had claimed his wife, and applauded her to the echo for her love and firmness.

Of course the scene at Puritan Grange had been much exaggerated.

The two nights were prolonged to intervals varying from a week to a fortnight.