And so the little conference ended. George had certainly gained nothing. Caroline had gained this, that she had made known her resolution, and had, nevertheless, not lost her lover. To all the expressions of her determination not to marry till George should be a barrister, aunt Mary had added a little clause--that such decision might at any moment be changed by some new act of liberality on the part of uncle Bertram. In aunt Mary's mind, the rich uncle, the rich grandfather, was still the god that was to come down upon the stage and relieve them from their great difficulty. As George returned to town with his friend, his love was not quite so triumphant as it had been that morning on his road to church. END OF VOL. I. * * * * * THE BERTRAMS. A Novel. by ANTHONY TROLLOPE Author of "Barchester Towers," "Doctor Thorne," etc. In Three Volumes VOL. II. Second Editon London: Chapman & Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1859. [The right of Translation is reserved.] London: Printed by W. Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street. CONTENTS OF VOL. II. I. THE NEW MEMBER FOR THE BATTERSEA HAMLETS. II. RETROSPECTIVE.--FIRST YEAR. III. RETROSPECTIVE.--SECOND YEAR. IV. RICHMOND. V. JUNO. VI. SIR LIONEL IN TROUBLE. VII. MISS TODD'S CARD-PARTY. VIII. THREE LETTERS. IX. BIDDING HIGH. X. DOES HE KNOW IT YET? XI. HURST STAPLE. XII. THE WOUNDED DOE. XIII. THE SOLICITOR-GENERAL IN LOVE. XIV. MRS. LEAKE OF RISSBURY. XV. MARRIAGE-BELLS. THE BERTRAMS. CHAPTER I. THE NEW MEMBER FOR THE BATTERSEA HAMLETS. I must now ask my readers to pass over two years with me. It is a terrible gap in a story; but in these days the unities are not much considered, and a hiatus which would formerly have been regarded as a fault utterly fatal is now no more than a slight impropriety.