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 Introduction
Why Criminologists Need Data: Five Key Purposes
Official Sources of Crime Data
Police Statistics
Judicial Statistics
Correctional Statistics
What Do Official Data Measure?
Factors Affecting Crime Data
Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics
Unofficial Sources of Crime Data
Victimization Data
Self-Report Data
Observational Data
Validating Findings
How Data Are Used
Correlation
The General Aims of Research
Summary
Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts
Key Names
4 Victims and Victimology
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
The Roots of Victimology
Victimization Surveys
Advantages and Disadvantages
Canadian Victimization Surveys
The International Crime Victims Survey
Victim Characteristics
Age
Gender
Household Income
Marital Status and Sexual Orientation
Race and Ethnicity
Repeat Victimization
 Victim Precipitation: Blaming the Victim?
Secondary Victimization
Theoretical Models and Victim Typologies
Lifestyle Model
Routine Activity Theory
From Theory to Practice: The Emergence of Victims’ Rights
Victim Impact Statements
Victim Assistance Programs
Victim–Offender Reconciliation Programs
The Future of Victimology
Summary
Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts
Key Names

PART II Criminological Theories and

Approaches
5 Major Schools of Modern Criminological Thought
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
The Classical School
The Roots of Penal Reform
The Enlightenment
Beccaria’s Key Ideas
An Enduring Influence
Evaluation of the Classical School
The Positivist School
The Roots of Positivism
Lombroso and His Contemporaries
Evaluation of the Positivist School
The Rule of Law versus Science
The Neoclassical School
Towards an Integrated and Interdisciplinary School of Thought
Prison Reform
Modern Law Enforcement
 Legal Reform
Criminalistics
(New) Social Defence Movement: Humanistic Criminal Policy?
Prevention and Environmental Criminology
Crime Prevention
Key Ideas
Pioneers of Criminology in Canada
Tadeusz Grygier, Champion of the Social Protection Code
Denis Szabo, Father of Canadian Criminology
Ezzat A. Fattah, Champion of Victimology and Restorative Justice
Patricia L. Brantingham and Paul J. Brantingham, Environmental Criminologists
Summary
Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts
Key Names
6 Biosocial Approaches to Crime
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
The Foundations of Biological Determinism
Early Theories of Physical Appearance
Anthropological Measurement
Body Types and Criminal Behaviour
Genetic Research
Twin and Adoption Studies
The Brain and Behaviour
Intelligence
Personality
Substance Abuse
Brain Chemistry
EEG Abnormalities
Nutrition and Environmental Toxins
Diet, Toxins, and Food Additives
Vitamins
Minerals
Contemporary Biosocial Theories
The Birth of Sociobiology/Biosociology
Mednick’s Biosocial Theory
 Eysenck’s Biosocial Theory
Moffitt’s Biosocial Theory
The Future of Explanations Rooted in Biology and Genetics
Summary
Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts
Key Names
7 Psychological Perspectives
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
Supernatural Explanations
Early Psychological and Intrapsychic Approaches to Crime
Introduction to Psychiatric Aspects of Crime
Freud’s Intrapsychic Approach: Psychodynamics
Freudian Explanations
Learning Theories
Cognitive Explanations
Moral Development Explanations
Behavioural Explanations
The Place of Psychology in Criminology Today
Summary
Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts
Key Names
8 Sociological Perspectives
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
Sociological Approaches
Social-Structural Theories
The Human Ecological School
Anomie/Strain Theory
Policy Implications of Social-Structural Theories
Social-Process Theories
Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory
Labelling Theory
 Summary and Evaluation
Radical and Critical Theories: Conflict, Peacemaking,
Feminist, and Left-Realist
Conflict Theory
Peacemaking Theory
Feminist Perspectives
Left-Realism
Summary and Evaluation
More Recent (Integrated) Sociological Theories
Rational Choice Theories
Cultural Criminology
Summary
Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts
Key Names

PART III Diverse Types of Crime

9 Violent Crime
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
Homicide
Homicide Rates, Trends, and Patterns
Why Do People Kill?
Sexual Assault
Sexual Assault Rates
Interpreting Trends in Reported Sexual Assaults
Characteristics of Perpetrators and Victims of Sexual Assault
Family Violence
Robbery
Characteristics of Robbery and Robbers
“Causes” of Robbery
“New” Forms of Violence
Honour Killings
Hate Crime
Summary
 Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts
10 Property-Related Offences
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
Break-and-Enter
Patterns and Characteristics in Break-and-Enters
Clearance Rates and Explanations
Fraud
Patterns and Characteristics of Fraud
Theft
Patterns and Characteristics of Theft
Motor Vehicle Crime
Patterns and Characteristics of Motor Vehicle Crime
Arson
Patterns and Characteristics of Arson
Summary
Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts
11 Non-conventional Crimes: Organized Crime, Corporate and Economic Crime,
and Cybercrime
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
Organized Crime
History of Organized Crime
Defining Organized Crime
Organized Crime Groups in Canada
Comparing Organized Crime Groups to Other Organizations
Corporate Crime
What Is Corporate Crime?
Regulating Corporate Crime
Cybercrime: A New Form of Corporate Crime?
Different Forms of Cybercrime
Summary
Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts
 Key Names
12 Public-Order Crimes
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
Law and Morality
Gambling
Gambling and the Law
Characteristics and Trends
Prostitution
The Changing Laws Defining Prostitution
Characteristics and Trends
Male Sex Work
Pornography
Pornography and the Law
Does Pornography Cause Violence?
Substance Abuse
History of Substance Use and Abuse
Drugs and the Law
Alcohol the Drug
Illicit Drugs
Characteristics and Trends
Summary
Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts
13 The Globalization of Crime
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
The Globalization of Crime
Introduction to Transnational Crime
International Drug Trafficking
Terrorism
Defining Terrorism
Varieties of Terrorist Crime
Prevalence of Terrorism
Human Trafficking and Smuggling
Human Trafficking
 Transnational Smuggling
Counterfeiting and Intellectual Property Crime
International Money Laundering
Transnational Cybercrimes
Cyberterrorism and Cyberespionage
Responding to Transnational Crime
Summary
Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts

PART IV Trends in Criminological Research

14 Future Directions in Criminology and Crime Prevention
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
Criminology: A Frame of Reference
Four Approaches to Crime Control
Criminology and Social Responsibility
Future Trends
New Forms of Crime
Comparative Criminology
The Knowledge Explosion in Criminology
Controlling Crime: Punishment or Prevention?
Politics and Criminal Law
Restorative Justice: The Way Ahead?
Summary
Questions for Critical Thought
Key Concepts
Key Name

Glossary
References
Index
 FIGURES AND TABLES

Figures
1.1 Hagan’s Pyramid: Consensus versus Conflict
1.2 Conceptualizing Criminological Thinking
1.3 The Canadian Criminal Justice Process: A Simplified Flow Chart
1.4 Criminal Justice Expenditure, Canada, 2011–2012
1.5 The Core Sub-areas of Criminology
1.6 Sample List of Criminology Research Topics
1.7 Interdisciplinary Criminology
2.1 The Research Cycle
2.2 The Crime Funnel Applied to Sexual Assault in Canada
3.1 Canadian Crime Rate and Per Capita Criminal Justice Expenditure, 2002–2012
3.2 Canadian Crime Rate and Criminal Justice Expenditure as a Percentage of GDP,
2002–2012
3.3 Example of CCJS Judicial Statistics: Excerpt from the Homicide Survey, 1996–2016
3.4 An Example of Triangulation Analysis Using Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
4.1 Victims of Police-Reported Family Violence, by Sex of Victim and Age Group of
Victim, Canada, 2016
4.2 Primary Category of Substantiated Child Maltreatment in Canada, 2008
4.3 Indigenous Heritage of Children in Substantiated Child Maltreatment Investigations in
Canada, 2008
4.4 Self-Reported Childhood Physical and Sexual Abuse among Select Demographic
Groups, by Gender, Canada, 2014
4.5 Routine Activity Theory
4.6 Per cent of Type of Bullying Experienced, as Reported by Adolescents Who Reported
Experiencing Bullying
5.1 Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)
6.1 Summary of Biological Positivist Theories of Crime
6.2 The Brain
6.3 Gesch’s Study Findings: Effect on Those Treated with Nutritional Supplements for
More Than Two Weeks
6.4 Heuristic Biosocial Model of Violence
7.1 Freud’s “Iceberg” Model of Consciousness
7.2 Simplified Model of Behavioural Learning
8.1 Shaw and McKay’s Zone Rates of Male Juvenile Delinquents, Chicago (1927–1933)
9.1 Police-Reported Violent Crime Rate, Canada, 1962–2017
9.2 Crime Severity Index, Canada, 1998–2017
9.3 Rates of Police-Reported Homicide and Attempted Murder in Canada, 1962–2017
9.4 Police-Reported Rates of Sexual Assault (Levels 1–3) in Canada, 1986–2017
9.5 Gender Breakdown of Perpetrators of Sexual Assault, by Victim Gender Group,
Canada, 2009–2014
9.6 Police-Reported Robbery Rate in Canada, 1998–2017
9.7 Motivation for Police-Reported Hate Crimes in Canada, 2016
10.1 Property Crime Offences by Per Cent of Total Property Crime Violations, 2017
10.2 Police-Reported Break-and-Enters, Actual Incidences, Canada, 1987–2017
10.3 Weighted Clearance Rate by Type of Offence, Canada, 2013–2017
10.4 Police-Reported Fraud, Rate per 100,000 Residents, Canada, 1977–2017
10.5 Rates of Theft Under and Theft Over by Province and Territory, 2017
10.6 Rate of Motor Vehicle Theft, by Province and Territory, 2017
10.7 Rate of Motor Vehicle Theft per 100,000, Select Census Metropolitan Areas, 1998–
2017
10.8 Police-Reported Arson, Disregard for Human Life, and All Others, Rate per 100,000,
Canada, 1998–2017
11.1 CSIS Annual Expenditures, 2001–2 to 2016–17
11.2 Global Rates of Economic Crime, 2016 and 2018
11.3 Police-Reported Cases of Child Luring via a Computer and All Other Sexual
Violations against Children, 2007–2017 277
12.1 The Legal Status of Same-Sex Marriage Worldwide
12.2 Prostitution Offences in Canada through the Criminal Justice System, 2009–2014
12.3 Police-Reported Child Pornography and Corrupting Morals Charges, Canada, 2007–
2017
12.4 Estimated Annual Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (15+ years of age), Select
Countries, 2016 (litres of pure alcohol) 300
12.5 Impaired Driving Incidents, Canada and Provinces, 2017 (Rate per 100,000)
12.6 Police-Reported Drug Offences, by Type of Drug, Canada, 2007–2017 (Rate per
100,000)
13.1 Select Transnational Organized Crimes, by Estimated Value, 2010 312
13.2 Profile of Human Trafficking Victims, 2014
13.3 Forms of Exploitation among Trafficking Victims, by Gender, 2014
13.4 Counterfeit and Pirated Goods Seized in Canada, 2012
13.5 Retail Value of Counterfeit Goods Seized in Canada, 2009–2012
14.1 World Prison Population Rankings, Top 10 and Canada, by Number of Prisoners,
2016
14.2 Developmental Pathways
14.3 Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Prevention Strategies
14.4 Ontario’s Mobilization and Engagement Model of Community Policing

Tables
1.1 Authority Structure of the Canadian Criminal Justice System
2.1 Annual Criminal Code Violations in Canada, 2007–2017
2.2 Number of Residents per Police Officer in Selected Canadian CMAs, 2016
3.1 An Example of Police Statistics: Excerpt from the 2017 Uniform Crime Reporting
Survey
3.2 Excerpt from the Crime Severity Index (CSI) and Violent CSI, Canada, 2015–2017
3.3 Example of CCJS Correctional Statistics: Average Counts of Adults under Federal
Correctional Supervision, by Type of Supervision, 2015–2016
3.4 Police-Reported Crime Rates, 2002–2016 (Select Years)
4.1 Self-Reported Victimization, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014
4.2 Victimization Rates from the International Crime Victims Survey, Select Countries,
1989–2000
5.1 Law and Science in Conflict
5.2 NCRMD Cases Completed in Adult Criminal Courts, Select Jurisdictions, Canada,
2005–6 to 2011–12
6.1 Top Five Narcotic Substances Used by Canadians (%), 2013
7.1 Freud’s Six Defence Mechanisms
7.2 Piaget’s Moral Development Theory
7.3 Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Reasoning
7.4 Eysenck’s Personality Theory of Criminality
7.5 Contrasting Classical and Operant Conditioning
7.6 A Summary of Psychological Perspectives on Crime
8.1 A Summary of Sociological Perspectives on Crime
9.1 Rates of Violent Crime in Canada and the United States, 1998, 2008, and 2017
9.2 Homicide Rates for Selected Countries, 2016
10.1 Police-Reported Rates of Theft Over and Theft Under, Canada, 1993–2017 (Select
Years)
10.2 Rate and Number of Motor Vehicle Thefts in Canada, 1996–2016 (Select Years)
10.3 Top Five Models of Stolen Vehicles in 2017, Canada
11.1 Cybercrime Categories
11.2 Cybercrime Incidents Reported to Police, 2014–2016 273
12.1 Gross Government-Operated Gaming Revenue, by Source, by Province, 2016–2017
12.2 Prevalence of Moderate-Risk and Problem Gamblers by Province
12.3 Total Drug Violations in Canada, Actual Incidents and Rate, 2006–2016
12.4 Canada’s Drug Users, Costs, and Attributable Deaths: A Snapshot from 1991
12.5 The Social Costs of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs in Canada, 2014, (millions of
dollars)
13.1 Typology of Human Traffickers
 PREFACE
After nearly a decade of decline, the crime rate and crime severity index
have risen, ever so slightly, since 2016. Although the rates are still well
below their peak of several decades ago, among Canadians there is still a
discernible urgency around crime. One cannot go online, turn on the news,
or pick up a newspaper without encountering sensational coverage of
criminal events (e.g., terrorism, mass murders, corporate fraud, identify
theft, etc.) occurring close to home or around the world.
If the prevalence of crime stories is an accurate indication of public
interest, then the subject of crime and criminality is a “hot” topic. Indeed,
it is not just the news media that deliver crime to an eager audience.
Recent decades have seen a lemming-like trend in the creation of crime
shows, ranging from procedural crime dramas and studies of the criminal
justice system to reality cop shows and documentaries. As I write this
(in October 2018), some of the popular crime shows discussed in my class,
among others, include: Breaking Bad (2008–13), Dexter (2006–13), The
Blacklist (since 2013), and more recently Mind Hunter (since 2017). Then
there are the seemingly endless pop psychology shows that sometimes
dedicate entire episodes to interviewing high-profile offenders. Crime has
become a commodity that has captured the fascination of the general
public.
All of this public interest reflects a widely held desire to better
understand crime, its causes, and its actors. Of late, we’ve seen this
interest extend to academia. Today, most criminology and criminal justice
programs at Canadian colleges and universities do not have enough
placements to accommodate the demand from qualified students. This has
contributed to a proliferation of online courses in recent years, as well as
an increase in the number of graduate programs across Canada and
internationally. An interest in crime and criminal justice is likely what led
you to select the course you’re now taking. If so, I hope this textbook will
not only satisfy some of your curiosity but also inspire you to want to
learn more. There are many avenues of research open to aspiring
criminologists.
Criminology is the dynamic study of crime and how to prevent or
control crime. As we will see time and again throughout this textbook,
there is no simple or single answer to questions such as why people
commit crime or how we can prevent it.
Historically, most introductory textbooks on criminology in Canada
have embraced either a sociological or a psychological approach. In an
effort to acknowledge the complexity of human behaviour and the
diversity of factors that influence crime rates, this text embraces an
integrative and interdisciplinary approach to the topic, drawing on a wide
range of complementary theories as well as insights from disciplines
beyond sociology and psychology, including biology, economics, and
political science.
To make the text more student-friendly, the chapters have been
designed to provide key information without too much distracting
secondary material. Each chapter does, however, contain certain
pedagogical features meant to help readers better assimilate the central
themes and ideas. These include learning objectives, presented at the start
of each chapter; a selection of sidebars and feature boxes that enliven the
main text with information about fascinating figures, cases, and research;
and several end-of-chapter features designed to help students review the
material, including a bullet-point summary of the chapter, a set of
questions for critical thought that can be tackled individually or in groups,
and links to relevant online resources.
Part I, Introduction to the Study of Crime, comprises four chapters
that together provide the foundation for the study of crime. Chapter 1
introduces the reader to the meaning of crime, deviance, and criminology.
It also traces the evolving history of criminology and provides the basis
for understanding the value of an interdisciplinary and integrated
approach. Chapter 2 examines the role of the public and the media. Both
play an integral role in forging perceptions of crime, determining the
issues criminologists examine, and directing criminal justice policy. The
chapter argues that we need to understand the role of the public and the
media when studying crime.
Criminological theory and criminal justice policy are influenced by
cultural values and politics. These elements can be tempered when
objective criminological data are used to support policies and educate the
public. Chapter 3 reviews the various methods of collecting and analyzing
information about crime and criminals, and concludes with some
cautionary observations on criminological data. Chapter 4 examines
issues related to victims and victimology, a topic that, since the early
1990s, has become increasingly mainstream in Canadian criminology. It
rightfully deserves a chapter of its own, strategically placed towards the
start of the textbook.
In Part II, Criminological Theories and Approaches, the attention
shifts to the range of theories used to explain crime. These theories
represent the various epistemological perspectives used to engage in
criminological inquiry. Textbooks differ in their orientation and method of
coverage, but they generally reflect competing disciplinary approaches
rather than offering an interdisciplinary, integrated approach. Chapter 5
covers the three major schools of criminological thought and offers an
overview of some of the discipline’s Canadian and international pioneers.
The material presented here is a relatively unique feature of this book, as
it is not found in any detail in other Canadian introductory criminology
textbooks. The final section of the chapter provides the rationale for an
integrated approach to the study of criminology and a call for
criminologists to shift their focus to crime prevention and
interdisciplinary models.
The remaining chapters in Part II reflect this interdisciplinary
approach. The major criminological theories are divided into the three
primary multidisciplinary areas: biology (Chapter 6), psychology
(Chapter 7), and sociology (Chapter 8). While providing coverage of the
main theories stemming from each discipline, the three chapters examine
some newer integrated, multi-factor, and interdisciplinary approaches.
Recognizing that many criminology and criminal justice programs include
a course on theory, the intention here is to provide an overview and not a
comprehensive summary of all theories.
 Part III, Different Types of Crime, is divided into five chapters.
Chapter 9 provides an overview of the violent crimes most recorded by
the police—and that typically draw the most attention from the media and
the public. In addition, the chapter provides a brief overview of some
emerging forms of violence, such as hate crime, honour killing, and
terrorism, a topic we revisit with greater attention in Chapter 13. Chapter
10 examines crimes against property. In particular, the chapter focuses on
conventional crimes such as fraud, theft, motor vehicle crime, and arson.
In Chapter 11, the focus shifts to non-conventional crime, including
organized crime, corporate crime, and cybercrime. In addition to
reviewing current trends, the chapter surveys some of the explanations that
criminologists have offered to account for these types of crime. Chapter
12 addresses what are often referred to as crimes against public order,
such as gambling, prostitution, and substance abuse. Although these
crimes often involve organized crime groups, they are treated separately
because of their status as so-called victimless or consensual crimes. To
some, they are crimes of morality involving willing participants; as such,
they do not belong in the domain of state control. To others, they make
victims of their participants and have a direct impact on public safety and
well-being; they deserve our censure.
Chapter 13 is devoted to the globalization of crime, which has come
to prominence in recent decades. Some of these crimes are not new:
human trafficking, for instance, is one of the oldest known crimes. Others,
like terrorism, are essentially old crimes that have gained strength from
new ways of reaching targets, audiences, and potential recruits. What these
crimes have in common is that they make use of the technological
advances and globalizing processes that define our modern age.
Lastly, Chapter 14, the only chapter of Part IV, Trends in
Criminological Research, looks into the proverbial crystal ball in an effort
to identify the issues that future criminologists will grapple with. It
highlights the growing importance of comparative research, crime
prevention, and the knowledge explosion in criminology. The chapter
concludes with an overview of restorative justice: one of the dominant
emerging trends in criminology and one that reflects an integrated and
interdisciplinary approach to social order.
 At the end of the book is a glossary, providing, in many cases,
expanded explanations of the key terms that are glossed briefly in the
margins of the book’s chapters. These definitions serve as a study tool for
students preparing for exams and provide a solid footing for anyone
striving to gain a better understanding of criminology overall.
To help students and instructors get the most out of this textbook,
several resources are available on the companion website for the book,
hosted by Oxford University Press. These include an Instructor’s
Manual, PowerPoint Slides, and a Test Bank file for instructors, and a
Study Guide for students. The files are available at
www.oupcanada.com/Criminology4e (a password is required to access the
instructor resources).
Although I have tried to do justice to the evolving nature of
criminology by adopting an interdisciplinary and integrated approach, I
must call on students and instructors to fill some gaps from time to time. I
see this textbook—like criminology itself—as a work in progress. Should
you find this book interesting and intellectually stimulating, then my
efforts have not been in vain. Nevertheless, rest assured the journey is not
complete and that constructive feedback is always welcome.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Although I remain solely responsible for the content of this textbook, it
reflects the collective input and support of numerous people, only a
handful of whom are named in the paragraphs that follow. Whether named
or not, my heartfelt thanks goes out to them all.
Whenever I undertake an effort such as the writing of this book, I am
reminded not only of how important friendships and loved ones are but of
how important it is for us to recognize and appreciate that we are part of a
larger community.
My grandfather, Dirk Winterdyk, has been the most influential
academic force in my life. In addition to embodying all the quintessential
traits of a wonderful grandfather, he was an educator extraordinaire, and
his dedication and unending thirst for learning have remained a powerful
influence on me even as I became a grandfather for the first time during
the final stages of completing this book.
 I would like to acknowledge the assistance of three former students
with whom I had the pleasure to work on the previous edition and some of
whose input and ideas have been carried forward in this edition. They
include Jesse Cale for Chapter 4, Nick Jones for Chapter 8, and Mike Beke
for Chapter 11. It was not only an honour and privilege to work with them
on the previous edition, but it is rewarding to see them evolve into fine
young scholars and academics.
Throughout my academic years, I have been fortunate to study and
learn from several esteemed leaders in the academic community. These
include Ronald Roesch, Ray Corrado, Paul Maxim, Paul and Patricia
Brantingham, Hans-Jorg Albrecht, and many others. Of my colleagues at
Mount Royal University, where I have worked since 1988, I would like to
recognize Professor Doug King, who has provided me with invaluable
intellectual discourse, feedback, and support over the years.
To Rose: the patience, tolerance, and support I demanded of her at
times bordered on impracticable! She is the true pillar of strength in our
relationship, and I thank her for being the wonderful person she is. To
Michael and Alex, our now young adult sons, thank you for enduring the
journey; I am thrilled and honoured to be able to watch you grow into
wonderful young men as you now embark on your respective journeys.
I would like to thank the team at Oxford University Press, and
particularly Ian Nussbaum, who encouraged me to revise and update this
textbook. I would like to extend a special thank-you to Amy Gordon, my
developmental editor, who once again diligently helped nurse and nudge
this edition into completion. Her wonderful sense of humour, boundless
kindness, and enduring patience helped make the tough days much easier.
Along the way I was blessed to have a former student and now dear friend,
Crystal Hincks, help update many of the tables and figures, and also Nancy
Wright, who tirelessly provided invaluable input and feedback, and
editorial input, as I reworked most of the chapters into the new format. A
special thanks also goes out to the copy editor, Richard Tallman, who
helped bring the manuscript to the goal line; although the final product is
my responsibility, they are, in many respects, the unsung heroes who
helped to ensure that you, the reader, will find the book not only
interesting and informative but highly accessible.
 In addition, I would like to thank the following reviewers, as well as
the anonymous reviewers who spent many hours reading the manuscript in
rough form and offering constructive criticisms and insightful suggestions
for the new edition:

Sam Alvaro, University of Ottawa

Elic Chan, University of British Columbia
René Gadacz-Gould, Grande Prairie Regional College
Wayne Hanniman, University of Ottawa
Shereen Hassan, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Jarkko Jalava, Okanagan College
Jordana Norgaard, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Richard Norman, Seneca College
Angela Peterson, Algonquin College
Peter Skrypka, University of Guelph-Humber
Robert Small, University of British Columbia

Finally, I dedicate this book to the fond memory of my dear mother,

Elizabeth Belgrave (1936–2017), who always knew when to call and offer
her words of wisdom and support.

John Winterdyk, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Department of Economics, Justice and Policy Studies
Mount Royal University
Calgary, Alberta T3E 6K6
e-mail: [email protected]
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expediency was very much to be thought of, and that when a man could not
have all he wanted it was wise to put up with what he could get.
‘Cara, don’t be angry with me,’ he said. ‘I shall like your friends, too, if
—if you wish me. The lady is very nice and kind, as you say. She has asked
me to go there to dinner, too.’
‘You!’ Cara said, with (he thought) a gleam of annoyance. Roger jumped
up, wild with rage and jealousy, but then he sat down again, which was
certainly the best thing for him to do.
 CHAPTER XVI.

SUNDAY EVENING.

To sit down in your morning clothes, painfully conscious of a blue tie with
a pin it, at a decorous dinner-table with three men in correct evening dress,
and two ladies—not indeed bare-shouldered according to ancient use, but
yet arrayed in all the niceties of that demi-toilette which is the despair of the
vulgar—is in itself no small trial to a sensitive and thin-skinned youth.
Roger Burchell had not been able to resist the spell which Mrs. Meredith
exercised upon everybody who came near her, nor had he been able to
count the cost of that evening spent in Cara’s society, and to strike a balance
between the pain it would cause him and the pleasure to be procured from
it. He was not calm enough to do this. He had not thought of any pain
involved, but snatched at the chance of carrying out his hopes and spending
the evening in her society without thinking of any results. To be sure,
instinctive dislike and repugnance had moved him at the first sight of the
two young men. What did they want here? What had Cara to do with them?
But that was all; and he had not realised how hard it would be to sit by and
see these natural enemies so much nearer and more intimate with Cara than
himself, linked to her by ties even of older friendship than he could boast
of, poor fellow. All this was unthought-of misery. It was true that after the
Merediths went away in the short interval before dinner he had half-an-hour
with Cara by herself—but she asked him questions about his aunt and about
his little sisters, showing no interest in himself, and at last begged him to
excuse her, as she must get ready for dinner. Even then he did not know
how dark his fate was to be; but he could not get ready for dinner. He
looked at himself in the glass, and at his blue tie which he had thought so
well of in the morning. The best that anyone could say for poor Roger was
that he looked like a respectable mechanic in his Sunday costume, and a
consciousness of this fact impressed itself upon his own mind for the first
time. Yes—the long glass in the glimmering half-lighted drawing-room
showed him his own image as no glass at home had ever done—like an
engineer in his Sunday clothes, one of his practical ‘mates’ in the
workshop, who showed him how to make boilers and screws, and asked
him for beer—exactly like one of them. While this latter thought was in his
mind, Cara came softly into the room in her white dress, the most perfect
dainty creature, tearing poor Roger’s heart in two. How unlike she was to
himself in his blue tie! he felt as if he could never leave her, and yet wished
himself with his aunt in Notting Hill; for what had he to do here?
The dinner was not, perhaps, the abundant meal which Roger had been
used to see on occasions when there was company. There was no huge joint,
no pair of visible fowls, with a tongue placed between them, which was his
mother’s grand dish, but a succession of small matters handed round, which
Roger tried to despise. He tried hard to despise everything—the over-dress
(as he felt it to be), the flowers on the dainty table, the ready flow of talk.
How could these fellows find so much to say? He could have talked to Cara
(perhaps) had they been alone together; but to chatter as these fellows did—
he could as soon fly, he said to himself. There were no decorous silences,
no long pauses, such as he had been used to, but a constant, easy flow of
this, which, no doubt, they called conversation! It could not be said that he
himself added much to it. Now and then, after considerable pondering, he
would fire off a remark, but this seldom happened till after the subject had
been dismissed by the others, and when it required a polite effort on their
parts to make out what he meant; and he discovered this with a hot blush of
shame as soon as his little speech was made. The only comfort he had was
that Cara did not talk very much either; but then she listened with pleased
looks while the Meredith family chattered. How they all chattered, mother
and sons! Roger did not think they could be quite—he did not know what
word to use—not quite—. Perfectly respectable people did not, so far as he
knew, indulge in such streams of conversation. He felt there was something
wrong in so much talk.
And when they went upstairs after dinner it was still worse. Mr.
Beresford and the others did not sit over their wine, which Roger would
have thought the best thing possible had he found themselves satisfactory;
but as this was not the case, and he was sure that the only object of the
young Merediths in not staying below and drinking themselves stupid was
anxiety to be with Cara, too, he took their quick move as another sign of
depravity. It was new-fashioned, it was unEnglish, it was almost wicked. He
followed upstairs with a protest in his soul. Cara and Mrs. Meredith were
sitting together over the fire. They drew a little apart as the others came in,
and Mr. Beresford placed himself by the elder lady, and Oswald by Cara.
So! Roger said to himself, that was the habitual way in which they arranged
themselves—nothing could be more clear; flirtation, nothing but flirtation,
between the old people and between the young people. It was more than
wrong, it was monstrous. He supposed such things did happen in London
society, where everything that was bad happened; but to think of poor little,
innocent Cara being thrown into the midst of such a set of people! Roger
could scarcely command his feelings. After standing about behind-backs for
a time with Edward, who, to tell the truth, seemed a little ‘out of it’ too,
Roger’s sense of horror forced him forward to the front of the fire, where he
suddenly placed himself with that temerity of enraged shyness which is
bolder than assurance. At all events, there could be no particular
conversation between Oswald and Cara while he stood there.
This made a little break in the low-voiced talk. Mrs. Meredith, who sat
on the other side in a low chair, with a little table by her elbow, on which
stood a lamp, turned from Mr. Beresford to look at him. He could not easily
think ill of this soft-smiling lady; but he made an effort, and succeeded even
in this.
‘Are you at the University, Mr. Burchell?’ she said, smiling upon him.
There was some work lying upon her little table. He jumped at this
evidence of Sabbath-breaking and profanity with inward satisfaction as a
sign that she must be bad too.
‘No,’ he said, with unnecessary explanatoriness, ‘I am not so lucky. I
have got my own way to make in the world. I have to start work at once. I
was afraid you would give me credit for more than I deserved. My brother’s
at Cambridge, for he is going into the Church; but as for me, I’ve got my
own way to make in the world.’
‘So have the rest of us,’ said Oswald. ‘You must not take such high
ground of superiority. We have all got our own way to make in the world.’
‘That is all very well,’ said Roger, determined to separate himself from
all resemblance to his companions; ‘but I’m a rough, practical man, not in
your elegant way. I’m an engineer—I am going to India, I suppose—— ’
‘And so, I suppose, am I,’ said Edward, looking, as Roger thought,
towards Cara with a sigh. ‘But I am not very fond of the idea. I hope you
like it better than I do?’
 ‘Nobody will ask my opinion whether I like it or not,’ said Roger. He
caught a glimpse of himself at this moment in a mirror opposite, and his
blue tie seemed to glare at him and force him on. ‘I shall have to do
whatever will make me independent soonest. They’ve got a number of
children at home.’
‘It is very fine to be independent,’ said Mrs. Meredith, in her soft way;
‘or at least so all you boys think. You like to be able to do what you please
without reference to your fathers and mothers.’ She looked at her own boys
as she spoke, not at Roger, and even this added to his exasperation. How
different they were with this soft mother, whose very look was a caress,
from what he was, with all the children at home, and a father and mother
whom numbers made impartial, and who had few prejudices in Roger’s
favour. Poor boy, his heart swelled with a sense of his disadvantages; and
naturally he did all he could to make them show the more.
‘Independence don’t mean that sort of thing to me,’ he said; ‘it is taking
the expense off my father, that’s what they think of. I must get my own
living as soon as I can, that is what it means; and if it is not a very good
living so much the worse for me. No one else will pay much attention.
Whether one does what one likes or does what one must, makes all the
difference——’
‘That is spoken like a philosopher,’ said Mr. Beresford, who had been
looking at the young bear thus making uncouth noises of self-assertion with
distasteful amusement; ‘but you must recollect that very few of us have the
privilege of doing what we like. When we get this advantage, it is generally
when we cease to prize it, when we should be thankful to go back to the
must, and be under force again.’
Under other circumstances Roger could only have been respectful of
Cara’s father, but he was otherwise inspired now, and ready to defy even
that most privileged of mortals. ‘So you people say, sir,’ he said, with a
rough show of respect, ‘who have things all your own way. So long as you
don’t know what it is to be under force of circumstances, I suppose it seems
rather fine than otherwise to do your duty though you don’t like it. I have
thought that myself now and again. It looks self-denying and all that; but if
it’s true, as people say, that you do best what you like best, I don’t see the
good of self-denial in that way.’
 ‘I agree with Mr. Burchell,’ said Oswald; ‘but I go further. What is the
good of self-denial in any way? It always involves unkindness to somebody.
Nature gives you a beautiful day, for instance, and you turn your back upon
her and work. What could be more unkind and ungrateful? Or Cara says to
me, “Come out and play croquet in the Square——” ’
‘I hate croquet,’ cried Cara, indignantly. ‘I never did such a thing in my
life; besides, it is winter, and I could not play croquet if I liked it ever so
much.’
‘What does it matter about details? I use the word croquet as a symbol—
or my mother requires my attendance upon her somewhere. Then the rest of
the world turn round and call me idle! Self-denial is a disagreeable quality,
Cara. Let us avoid it. At the best it is only extracting merit out of necessity,
for nobody denies himself except when he’s obliged to do so.’
‘Sybarite!’ said Mrs. Meredith, shaking her head at her son; and then she
turned to talk to Mr. Beresford, and the four young people were left to
themselves.
‘Sit down, Roger,’ said Cara; ‘why should you stand up there as if you
were defying the world. You are all quite wrong. It is not self-denial to do
what you are forced to do. When you give up anything of your own free
will because it is right, then perhaps——’
‘Only perhaps, Cara? Don’t take away the little satisfaction one has in
doing a thing that is disagreeable. Look here,’ said Edward, suddenly
seating himself in the vacant place by her which Roger had neglected to
take, ‘going to India is very disagreeable to me. I think I could do just as
well at home. My feeling is all against it; I might, perhaps, make more
money there, but money is not everything. There is no necessity that I can
see, one way or another—but my mother wishes it—that is to say, my
mother thinks my father would like it——’
Roger looked quickly at Mrs. Meredith. Is there a father? he said to
himself, with a mental whistle of astonishment, to which he dared not give
audible utterance. ‘Whew!’ and the astute young man immediately leaped
to the conviction that here was something unquestionably wrong.
‘I thought—it was Oswald—whom Mr. Meredith wanted——’
Oswald laughed. ‘Have you not found out, Cara, that Oswald is an
individual?’ he said. ‘If Ned likes to be knocked about the world according
to other people’s fancies, that is his affair. I don’t. Yes, it was Oswald that
was wanted; but I never was a man for competitive examinations, my ideas
don’t run in that channel, so I dropped my mantle upon my brother. Oh, he
will have compensation; he will be a Member of Council while I am only a
briefless barrister. He will move princes about like chessmen while I have
no influence with anyone but a stray editor. Ned will be the great man of the
family—what, you don’t approve of me! You would rather Ned stayed at
home than I?’
Cara had given him a very young girl’s most emphatic sign of
disapproval. She turned her shoulder upon him, and averted her head. Poor
Roger looked on with a burning heart, seeing the two brothers, one on each
side of her, contending, as it seemed, for her approbation. The fact that there
were two seemed to shut him out more and more. He was indignant,
disappointed, wounded. He said to himself in his heart every ill thing he
could think of against this strange house. First, the Sunday dinner-party—
even though he had himself condoned it by becoming one of the guests;
second, the work left on the table, which he felt sure the mistress of the
house was quite capable of taking up, although restrained by his presence
from actually doing so. Then the separation of the family—the father in
India, the mother here. What a house for Cara to be thrown into! What an
example for her! A woman who lived apart from her husband and yet asked
people to dinner could not be a proper woman to have the charge of Cara.
Of course, she was just the sort of person to encourage a girl in flirting, to
put evil into her head. These were the thoughts that kept burning and
scorching the brain of poor Roger as he stood before the fire in this strange
house, the people on either side of him so much engaged with each other,
and he so completely left out. Why did he come here to make himself
unhappy? Why build such foolish hopes upon this day? His aunt at Notting
Hill would have been a much better companion, a great deal kinder, and she
would be wondering now what had become of him, or thinking, perhaps,
that he was enjoying himself! Strange enjoyment! He made a distinct pause
in his thoughts to realise her, but he made no sort of movement to go away,
which was the only thing he could do to relieve her anxiety. She would
wonder if he meant to come back; if he was going to stay all night; or if he
had gone off straight from his friend’s house to catch the train. There were
not all the usual trains on Sunday nights, and this would perplex her, poor
lady, still more. All this passed through his mind, and he was very
uncomfortable. Yet he made no attempt to go away.
 ‘Roger,’ said Cara, getting up suddenly, for she felt herself embarrassed
on her side, and was glad of a way of escape, ‘are you going back to the
College to-night?’
Her question chimed in with his thoughts, but he did not reply in the way
that would have seemed most in keeping with those thoughts. ‘It does not
matter,’ he said; ‘I think I shall go down by the first train to-morrow.’ As
soon as he felt her soft eyes upon him the foolish young fellow thought that
all must go well.
‘If I were you I would go to-night,’ she said; ‘you will be obliged to get
up so early, and it is so dark in the mornings. You never used to like getting
up——.’ Roger felt the light and the warmth coming back to him, flooding
him round and round.
‘I don’t mind now,’ he said. ‘It does not matter. To-night is better than
to-morrow,’ which was an incoherent utterance that Cara could not
understand.
‘Have you been enjoying it, then? I was afraid you did not like them,’
said Cara, very low, so that no one could hear but himself. Then Roger
glowed with sudden kindness, and felt ready to embrace the whole party.
‘It is only my bad manners,’ he said. ‘Oh, Cara, have I been making
myself disagreeable? You know they always go on at me about my manners
at home.’
‘Your manners are well enough,’ she said, with a serious look. ‘I thought
you were not—pleased. Come, then, and sit down, and talk with the rest;
they are more like you than they are like me. You ought to be friends, for
you are all—boys. A girl has less to say to them. And then Edward is going
to India, too——’
‘I would rather talk to you; but I will do whatever you like, Cara.’
‘Yes; but do it, then,’ she said with a smile, and, leaving him there she
went over to the other side of the fire, and sat down under the shadow of
Mrs. Meredith, from whence she looked across placidly at the three whom
she had abandoned. Mrs. Meredith smiled upon Cara, putting out her hand
caressingly to lay it upon the girl’s shoulder. They made a pretty group; but
Mr. Beresford, who was leaning over the little table, talking earnestly, did
not care for the interruption. A slight cloud came over his face when his
daughter came within hearing. He finished what he was saying quickly, and
then was silent; it had not been intended for her ear. While on the other side
of the room the young men looked at each other in a kind of armed truce,
and a moment of dead silence elapsed, the first that had occurred since they
came into the room, in the midst of which Mrs. Meredith was heard saying,
‘I fear you are not amusing yourself, Cara. Are the boys disagreeable? Go
and sing something for us. I like your soft little voice on Sunday night. Sing
me the “Angels;” that suits you best.’
‘Just what I was going to suggest,’ said Oswald, getting up and going to
the piano to open it for her. It was in the back part of the room, which was
but partially lighted. Both the others, in their different ways, bestowed a
private benediction on Oswald, who was more ready than either of them.
They sat looking wistfully into the dimness, listening to Cara’s soft voice,
which rose out of it like a bird. ‘Angels, ever bright and fair,’ she sang,
looking herself, that little white vision, only half-visible, like anything
angelic or fairy-like, which the imagination chose to select. Roger listened
with his heart full. But for the apparition of that other figure beside her,
behind her, who stood keeping time with an involuntary movement of his
head and hand in a way which tempted even his brother to blaspheme,
Roger’s heart would have run over with a soft ecstasy. He had never heard
Cara sing before, except in her schoolgirl days. As for the other two, the
elder pair, Mr. Beresford’s countenance cleared and he resumed his talk,
and Mrs. Meredith once more gave him her whole attention, while Edward
and Roger stared into the back drawing-room. They did not address nor take
any notice of each other, but gazed blankly at Cara, who, having already
one attendant, evidently wanted none of them. When she had come to an
end of that song, Mrs. Meredith, though she was to all appearance absorbed
in what Mr. Beresford was saying, cast a word over her shoulder to the
young performer.
‘That was very sweet; thank you, dear. Now sing us something else.’
And Cara went on.
Roger sat and listened, between misery and rapture. He did not know
which predominated. Edward, to whose state of mind no one had any clue,
turned over a book, and hummed the air she was singing. Not a word passed
between the young men, notwithstanding that they were both boys, as Cara
had said, both going to India, and with every kind of bond of external
resemblance. But Roger did not feel any direct hatred to Edward as he did
to the other, who was always thrusting himself forward; and thus an hour
passed away. When that was over, Cara rose and said good-night. Then
there was a question who was to take her home, which showed as much as
did his own attitude—reclining tranquilly in his chair—that Mr. Beresford
had no idea of going away. Here Roger sprang to the front, for once
forestalling Oswald. He took his leave hurriedly, with confused thanks to
Mrs. Meredith, and followed Cara closely as she went downstairs, alarmed
lest someone might interfere even at the last moment. It was but a few
steps, unfortunately, from one door to the other, and though she lingered a
moment on the step, wrapping her shawl closely around her, Cara did not
ask him to go in.
‘It was very kind of you to come,’ she said, giving him her hand; ‘and I
am afraid you have not enjoyed it, Roger; but you will like them better
when you see more of them.’ She said this as people say so many things,
apologetic and otherwise, not because she wanted to apologise for the
Merediths, but because she did not know very well what to say.
‘I don’t think I shall ever like them,’ said Roger; ‘but that does not
matter. Cara, let me just say one word. I don’t think that they are the right
kind of people—for you.’
‘For me!’ After the first astonishment Cara laughed. ‘I did not think you
set up for being such a critic. What have they done to make you think ill of
them? They have been very kind to you.’
‘I did not want their kindness,’ said Roger, hotly; ‘they are not the kind
of people I like to see you with, Cara.’
‘I think I will say good-night,’ said Cara, with dignity. ‘It is cold here,
and you have a long walk to Notting Hill. It is a pity you missed your train.
Good-night.’
She did not so much as look at him, as she turned away and disappeared,
the door closing behind her. He had offended her now to make an
appropriate finish of this unhappy Sunday! But however cold it might have
been to Cara, it was not cold to Roger as he pushed his way at a tremendous
pace along the Sunday streets, so much darker than usual on account of the
closed shops, and filled with passengers so different from the usual crowd.
He would have kept himself warm in Siberia at that pace. His aunt was
waiting for him, but half-disposed to give up her watch, and wondering
what had become of him, as he thought she would.
‘I am very glad to have you for another night, Roger; but I thought you
must have rushed off to catch the train without thinking of your
portmanteau,’ she said; and then she gave him a glass of wine, half-proud,
half-disappointed to hear that he had dined ‘with his fine friends,’ and sent
him to bed with kind good-nights; for he had to start early in the morning,
and, no doubt, she thought, the day had been fatiguing, though so pleasant.
She was kinder than Cara; perhaps it would have been better for him if he
had not gone to the Square at all, but contented himself with Notting Hill.
 CHAPTER XVII.

EDWARD.

Cara had a visitor quite early next day, when she had just retired upstairs to
the drawing-room after breakfast. It was Edward Meredith, who came with
some message from his mother. He had been Cara’s friend when they were
both children, though Oswald was the one who had claimed her intimacy
since she grew up; and he had come now on a sort of investigation to see
for himself whether his brother had taken his place. I think Cara, too, had a
consciousness of Edward’s meaning, though neither of them could have put
it into words; and no idea of love, properly so called, was in the minds of
the boy and girl. To be sure, he was twenty-one, no longer legally a boy,
and thought himself very much a man in many ways. He was aware that the
little serious maiden, who had been the friend of his childhood, appeared
very sweet and attractive to him now, and that he did not like Oswald to
assume the privileged place by her, to be the one who talked with her and
walked with her, and offered her those small services which it is often more
pleasant to render than to receive. Edward was not jealous of his brother,
but he had the suppressed consciousness of being placed at a disadvantage
by Oswald, which is not very unusual in the mind of the younger of such a
pair. Oswald had been, not above him, but a step in front of him all his life;
he had what those who did not like him called more showy qualities, what
those who did like him described as greater talents than Edward’s. He
talked better, he was more ready in demonstration of his sentiments, and
could always express himself—whether on paper or in speech—more
fluently. These were real advantages; and to these, as was natural, the young
man who felt himself to be second added others which were not so real. He
thought Oswald’s verses, and literary pretensions, and gracefulness, and
good looks were all infinitely superior to his own, and was apt to be
depressed, and not to do himself justice in Oswald’s presence. It was a relief
to find how late Oswald was, and that he could come in, early in the
morning, to test Cara, and find out if all her friendliness had been
transferred to his brother. If so, Edward would not grumble, but he would
know what he had to expect, and would not look for anything more. When
he had delivered his mother’s message, there was a little pause. They had
both a little ingenuous awe of each other, and did not know how to begin.
‘How long it is since I have been here!’ Edward said at last; ‘not since
the days when I used to be afraid to move for fear of breaking some of the
beautiful things. My mother wisely refrained from china in those days; but
we were always told that Mrs. Beresford was “very particular.” You do not
mind my speaking of her? I remember her so well lying on the sofa, like a
picture. You are like her, Cara, but not very like her—— ’
‘No; for she was beautiful,’ said Cara, simply; and Edward took her
words as she said them, without interposing a laughing compliment, as
Oswald would have done. ‘I do not mind; though sometimes I wonder,
when I am sitting alone here——’
‘You wonder? what?’
‘All about her,’ said Cara, her voice dropping lower; ‘about her dying.
Don’t you think it must be hard to die like that when everybody wishes you
to live? And then—about—whether she ever comes here? the drawing-
room is just as she left it——’
Edward looked round it, following her glance. He did not smile; his
countenance had an air of sympathy and interest, almost awe.
‘It is so strange, sitting here when all the house is still. One seems to see
a chair placed differently to what it was before. I did not do it; and then
everything is so still. One feels as if someone was looking, gazing at one.
Sometimes I am sure that the eyes are there—not unkind, to frighten me,
but solemn and steady, not changing from one thing to another, as we do.
Did you ever think what happens when we die?’
‘Not much, I am afraid,’ said the young man, himself feeling the spell of
the stillness, and as if those eyes might be upon him of which she spoke.
‘But Cara, you ought not to be here by yourself, for it cannot be good for
you to feel like this, or to be thinking such things. I like you to be here; but
it would be better, more natural, for you in the country. You ought not to
stay——’
‘This is home,’ said Cara, with a little sigh; and then she brightened up.
‘I think I am making believe for the pleasure of being sympathised with,’
she said. ‘I am not dull. It is only sometimes, only now and then, in the
morning. Somehow one feels more lonely in the morning, when everybody
is busy. To have nothing to do, and to see no one all the long, active
forenoon! At the Hill one could run out in the garden; there was always
something to do; or if it rained, there was work; but no one asks what I do
with myself here.’
‘My poor little Cara! forgive me. I thought you were a little girl again.’
‘Oh, I don’t need to forgive you. It is very kind of you, Edward. Am I a
little girl, or am I rather old? I can’t be quite sure sometimes. I suppose it is
because I am fanciful,’ said Cara, the tears coming to her eyes in spite of
herself. ‘Aunt Cherry always said I was. Look, I am going to cry—for
nothing at all! You never—th—thought I was so silly,’ she said, with a
smile on her face, but a childish sob breaking her voice.
‘I wish you were with Aunt Cherry again,’ said Edward; ‘you ought not
to be left by yourself here.’
‘Oh, I must be here. It is home, and I like it—sometimes. Your mother is
very kind to me; and Oswald comes and talks——’
Perhaps it was scarcely possible that Edward should resist this
temptation to inquire into Oswald’s degree of favour. He was not jealous.
No, he thought, he felt sure that he was not jealous; but he was always the
second, and no one likes that. He felt a slight passing sting and check when
she spoke of Oswald, and in spite of himself could not but feel anxious to
find out what degree of intimacy existed between them.
‘Do you say this to Oswald? Does he know?’ he added.
‘I never said anything,’ said Cara, recovering herself; ‘why should I? it
was nonsense. And then Oswald has so much to tell me about him—it is
much more amusing than to chatter about one’s self. Don’t think me very
silly, Edward. It was because you seemed to want to know about me——’
‘So I did,’ he said; ‘so I do, Cara. It was you and I that used to be the
friends. Oswald was bigger, don’t you remember? It was always you and I
——’
Cara made no direct reply to this representation. She even disregarded
the anxious look he gave her, as he made this appeal to old recollections, of
which she was not specially thinking at this moment for her part.
‘How different people are,’ she said. ‘Some people tell you about
themselves; some make you talk, I don’t know how, of you. I don’t think
you would have a good moral effect upon me, Edward. You make me
selfish; you make me think of myself. Oswald does not ask about me. He
makes me listen to him. Oh, it is very pleasant, and it must be better, I feel
sure——’
‘You like it better? I am such an uninteresting fellow, Cara, not like
Oswald. I prefer to hear about you——’
‘Thanks,’ she said, with a little shy glance at him, and a slight reddening
which she could not explain. ‘Did you think poor Roger very rough and
very strange last night? I hope you did not think badly of him. He was,
perhaps, a little cross, but he is not like that always, not even often. I don’t
think I ever saw him so cross before.’
‘I understand him, Cara. He was an old friend, too, and he hoped to have
you to himself; whereas he found you among still older friends than he was,
and intimate, and at your ease. And he was not at all at his ease—I
understand him. I have had the very same sort of thing happen to me.’
‘With whom?’ Cara asked rather abruptly. She was surprised, even
slightly nettled, without knowing why. Did Edward know any other girl
well enough? she asked herself. It was nothing to her, and yet she was half-
displeased.
‘Oh, with no one in particular,’ he said. ‘I have stolen a march upon
Oswald,’ he added, with a laugh. ‘I have had the luck of the early bird. He
was always a late fellow. To be sure, he sits up writing when the rest of us
go to bed.’
‘And is it true that he would not go to India, and put it upon you? I am
very fond of poetry,’ said Cara; ‘I would rather be a poet than anything else
in the world; but not to put the disagreeable work upon someone else—not
to please myself at the expense of another——’
‘That is not the way to put it, Cara. I am really the one that can go best.
Oswald should have a brilliant career at home. He is clever enough to do
whatever he pleases, but it is not the same with me. Oh, I am not going in
for humility; I can cram for an examination better than he can; it is a
humble quality, but it is very serviceable. So we have both the part that suits
us best.’
‘But you don’t like it, Edward.’
‘Which of us likes best the special thing he has got to do? We all think
something else would be better. Even you, Cara—— oh, Heaven knows I
did not mean to vex you. Is it I that have brought the tears into your eyes?’
 ‘No,’ she said, putting out her hand; ‘but it is quite true. I am—out of
sorts, I suppose, this morning. I can’t help crying; and what you say is quite
true. One always thinks something else would be better. Aunt Cherry says
the same thing, but different. Edward, I will try to go to my India as you go
to yours—without grumbling——’
‘If I had not grumbled, you would not have known anything about it,’ he
said; ‘and, Cara, if you were coming to India I should not grumble. I should
be quite reconciled. It is parting from—everyone I care for, that makes it so
hard to me.’
A kind of crimson reflection had come over Cara’s face—not a blush,
much more visionary than real—a reflection of a blush: the touch of a
vague sentiment which was somehow in the air, and which lighted upon the
girl’s face because it was more sensitive than the boy’s—that was all. But
he saw the shadow of a rosy tint over her features, and it moved him with a
vague sweetness of fancy, he did not quite know what. If Cara were to go to
India—not with him, not as his wife, his thoughts had not gone so far—but
if she, too, had to go, in some incomprehensible, delightful way, how the
aspect of that banishment would change! All at once, as he sat there, he
seemed to see himself looking over the high bulwarks of the ship by her
side, the blue water flying in soft ripples behind them, the foam-bubbles
dancing on the waves, the sunshine shining, all the world so new and so
sweet. How distinctly he realised the scene, which was just about as likely
as that the Queen should go with Edward to India! He came back from that
vision as from a long way off, with a half-choking sigh. ‘That is nonsense, I
suppose. Still it is that, and not India, that vexes me. Parting from those I
care for here.’
‘And Oswald—would have had that, too.’
‘Yes,’ said Edward, doubtfully; ‘Oswald would have had that, too—but
Oswald——’
He stopped, and Cara did not ask him to go on. There was a little doubt
in the repetition of the name. ‘But Oswald——’ What was he going to say?
She was too shy, too conscious, to ask. Cara did not blush, even in this
shadowy way, when Oswald spoke to her, but she had a vague sense that
perhaps he would be pleased to make her blush, would like to move her.
She was far more clear-sighted about him than about Edward. Just as she
knew her own power over Roger, she knew that Oswald would be pleased
to have a like power over herself. She did not discriminate these fine
differences of sentiment in words, but she was aware of them, without
attempting definition. She could play upon Roger if she pleased as upon an
instrument, and Oswald was trying, and would like, to bring music out of
her in the same way. She knew this instinctively, and perhaps Cara would
not have been very much surprised to be told that Oswald was ‘in love’
with her; but about Edward she had no insight, no theory. He was kind, and
she could talk to him and open her heart; that was all she knew.
Just then they were interrupted by the entrance of Oswald himself, who
came in, as he had got into the habit of doing, after his late breakfast.
‘Hallo, Ned, you here!’ he said, in a tone of surprise. He was not by any
means delighted by the appearance of his brother. ‘I did not expect to find
you occupied so early,’ he said to Cara. ‘Have you had the bear at your
levee, too? I hope he has recovered his temper this morning. If your natives
in Berkshire are all of that complexion, Cara, I don’t wonder you are glad to
get away.’
‘Poor Roger! he did not mean to be rude. Did Mrs. Meredith think he
was a bear?’
‘Oh, my mother! She would not be the universal charmer she is if she
was not something of a hypocrite,’ said Oswald. ‘You may be sure she will
not allow that any of her visitors is ever disagreeable. I suppose Ned
brought you her message about going out? Then I need not repeat it. And
there is to be a tea-drinking to-morrow, Cara, with all sorts of strange beasts
—authors and authoresses, and that kind of people. If you will keep close to
me I’ll tell you who they are. It will be a very funny company.’
‘But, Oswald, I thought you were an author, too. Why do you laugh at
them? I should have thought there would be sympathy——’
‘Wait till you see them,’ he said, with a laugh. ‘My dear little Cara, there
is a great difference always between out-and-out professionals and—other
people. A man may indulge in as much literature as he pleases, and it does
him no harm—indeed, it may chance to do him a little good. But the people
who have nothing but literature to stand upon, that’s a different thing
altogether; they are generally people who are out of society. Ned, what are
you going to do this morning? You don’t mean to say you are wasting your
time like an ordinary mortal? You were supposed to have gone to
Westminster Hall, or the British Museum, or at the very least, the London
Library. See how cheaply some people get a character for virtue! and all the
time, Cara, he was amusing himself and talking to you.’
‘I am going to work now,’ said Edward. ‘Remember, this is the first
chance I have had of seeing Cara. You are not to sit and think,’ he said
softly, taking her hand. ‘Go to my mother, will you, Cara? Do not stay all
the long morning here.’
‘I shall not be—dull,’ she said, in the same tone, with a grateful, friendly
look, which went to Edward’s heart. He was comforted, though he had to go
away and leave the field clear for his brother, and did so without even the
half-painful, half-compunctious feeling as of a grudge which he was
ashamed of, which generally moved him when Oswald was concerned.
Why should he entertain any grudge at his brother’s success? If Oswald was
not more agreeable, more bright, more winning than himself, he would not
be more popular. But, more than all these reasonings, with which he was
familiar, Edward felt the consolation of those discriminating words by
which Cara had indicated the difference between himself and his brother—
he, who made her talk; Oswald, who talked of himself. This kept him warm
all the way to Westminster Hall, or wherever else it was that he went to
pursue his studies for the future government of India; but perhaps the way
in which he had occupied the first hours of the morning did not make his
mind more clear for this much more important subject of thought.
‘It is well that there should be one hard-working fellow in the family,’
said Oswald, as the door closed, ‘for the family’s sake; and then it is
astonishing what a zest it gives to one’s own leisure—like—I suppose I
must not quote Latin to you, Cara—like seeing a ship pitching and tossing
at sea when one is safe on shore.’
‘How can you say so! how dare you say so!’ cried Cara, with flashing
eyes. ‘Oh, what is the good of your poetry and stuff if it only makes you
enjoy the sight of another person working—doing what you ought to have
done! Is that all the good it is? It ought to be something pure, something
noble, something to make your heart rise——’
‘Why, Cara!’ cried Oswald, aghast, yet half-laughing. ‘Poetry and stuff!
is it you who are speaking, or someone else? This is quite a new outbreak
for you.’
‘I did not mean that,’ cried Cara, with the hot blush of youthful shame;
‘still, if poetry does not make you more—a man—does not make you
stronger and better, and more noble and true——’
‘My dear little girl! Poetry is not morals and the Ten Commandments.
You have got confused in your reasonings. Come, never mind scolding me,
Cara. Listen to this. Your little temper has been put out with your bear last
night, and Ned’s gravities this morning. You want me to smooth you down
again. And I don’t like to be scolded. It answers with coarser natures, but I
am too sensitive. I want the warm atmosphere of commendation to bring me
out. Ask my mother if it has not been ever thus from childhood’s hour. Ned
can stand it. You may scold him for his good as much as you please—he
will like it; but come here, Cara mia. Listen to this——’
‘Oh, Oswald!’
‘Don’t scold me, Cara! Look here. I am just going to send it off to the
Piccadilly. I shall not be half so sure of it unless my little critic approves.
Come, you are not going to be hardhearted. I do want so very much to hear
what you think of this.’
He held out the dainty little manuscript, set forth in those irregular lines
which are dear to youth. And Cara could not help feeling the pleasure and
the grandeur of being his critic, and of hearing the poem read by its author,
which was going to be printed, and to live for ever. It glanced across her
mind how when Oswald was a great poet, as great as Tennyson or
Browning, people would tell how he used to go and read his young verses
to a girl whom he had known when he was a child; and this little scene
arranged itself historically in her mind as a scene which would make the
hearts of other girls beat with secret envy of her, the confidant of a poet.
Thus Cara was mollified and yielded, and criticised only the verses, not the
poet. Indeed, her criticism of the verses was of the mildest description, just
enough to give zest to her almost unbounded praise. And the poet enjoyed
himself greatly reading those innocent lines—which were quite innocent, if
somewhat insipid—seeing her absorbed face and soft eyes full of attention,
and delighting himself in the melody he had made. How wonderful is this
appetite of youth for mere rhyme! Cara listened to each line chiming with
the other in a trance of attention. It was as sweet to her as if it had been the
truest music, and charmed her very soul.
Oswald went down to the office of the Piccadilly afterwards, in great
satisfaction with his work. Sometimes these productions brought him in a
guinea or two, and then how pleased he was! more pleased than if he had
inherited a fortune. He thought himself on the high road to fame and fortune
when this happened, and was pleased to let his friends think that he made a
good deal of money by his pen. Luckily for him, he did not need to put any
dependence upon these dilettante earnings; but they sweetened life to him,
if they did not put much money in his purse. And the idea of Cara gave him
a soft pleasure. He, too, thought how it might be told hereafter that his first
critic was a beautiful girl, and that it was her enthusiasm which stirred him
on to the heights he afterwards attained. ‘And what became of the beautiful
girl?’ he thought he could hear somebody ask in posterity. Yes, indeed!
what became of her? Should she marry the poet, and be his muse and his
critic combined, or should she be drifted away into some other career, and
carry the memory of him with her to her last day, not quite breaking her
heart, perhaps, or at least no more than could be mended? He smiled as he
went along, with a little conscious warmth on his face, and wondered how
this would be.
But just then chance threw something else in his way. He met a
procession of school girls—not a very wonderful thing—attended by one or
two Sisters of one of the many modern Anglican sisterhoods, in poke
bonnets and black veils, decorations which are often very effective when
they surround a fair young countenance. Oswald had just caught sight of
one which charmed him, and which was enclosed by a poke less rigid, and a
veil less heavy than the others, which he concluded to mean novicehood, or
even mere associateship. The owner of this soft serious face was too young
to have made any permanent choice of so grave a kind, and was, indeed,
only a governess to whom a modification of the conventual dress had been
permitted as a privilege. Oswald crossed the road, and went along very
demurely, though it was not his way, parallel with the procession, looking
furtively, and, as he flattered himself, with purely artistic admiration, at the
little shepherdess of the flock. ‘She is a Perugino,’ he said to himself, and
already the ready verses began to flutter to his lips. He would write a poem
about her; she was the most charming subject—a true Perugino, with just
that warm glow of colour, not fair but mellow—those soft features, those
modest eyes. He began on the spot:—