But Mr. Jarndyce, true-hearted and generous as he had always been, had an idea very different from this in his mind. He had found, on Allan Woodcourt's return from his voyage, that the young surgeon still loved Esther. His keen eye had seen that she loved him in return, and he well knew that if she married him, Jarndyce, it would be because of her promise and because her grateful heart could not find it possible to refuse him. So, wishing most of all her happiness, he determined to give up his own love for her sake. He bought a house in the town in which Woodcourt had decided to practise medicine, remodeled it and named it "Bleak House," after his own. When it was finished in the way he knew Esther liked best, he took her to see it, telling her it was to be a present from him to the surgeon to repay him for his kindness to little Joe. Then, when she had seen it all, he told her that he had guessed her love for Woodcourt, and that, though she married the surgeon and not himself, she would still be carrying out her promise and would still become the mistress of "Bleak House." When she lifted her tearful face from his shoulder she saw that Woodcourt was standing near them. "This is 'Bleak House,'" said Jarndyce. "This day I give this house its little mistress, and, before God, it is the brightest day of my life!" HARD TIMES Published 1854 _Scene_: Coketown (an English factory town) and the Country. _Time_: About 1850 CHARACTERS Mr. Gradgrind A believer in "facts" Mrs. Gradgrind His wife Louisa Their daughter Tom Their son Josiah Bounderby A pompous mill owner and banker Later, Louisa's husband "Mrs. Pegler" His mother Mrs. Sparsit His housekeeper Mr. M'Choakumchild A schoolmaster Sleary The proprietor of a circus "Signor" Jupe The clown Cecelia Jupe His daughter. Known as "Sissy" Stephen Blackpool } } Mill workers Rachel } James Harthouse A man of the world "Merrylegs" Signor Jupe's performing dog HARD TIMES I MR. GRADGRIND AND HIS "SYSTEM"