The Project Gutenberg Etext of Lord Ormont and his Aminta, v5
by George Meredith
#87 in our series by George Meredith

Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
this or any other Project Gutenberg file.

We encourage you to keep this file, exactly as it is, on your own disk,
thereby keeping an electronic path open for future readers.

Please do not remove this.

This header should be the first thing seen when anyone starts to
view the etext. Do not change or edit it without written permission.
The words are carefully chosen to provide users with the information
they need to understand what they may and may not do with the etext.
To encourage this, we have moved most of the information to the end,
rather than having it all here at the beginning.


**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**

**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**

*****These Etexts Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****

Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get etexts, and
further information, is included below.  We need your donations.

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a 501(c)(3)
organization with EIN [Employee Identification Number] 64-6221541
Find out about how to make a donation at the bottom of this file.



Title: Lord Ormont and his Aminta, v5

Author: George Meredith

Edition: 10

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

Release Date: September, 2003 [Etext #4481]
[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
[This file was first posted on February 25, 2002]


The Project Gutenberg Etext Lord Ormont and his Aminta, v5, by Meredith
*********This file should be named 4481.txt or 4481.zip**********


Project Gutenberg Etexts are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US
unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we usually do not
keep etexts in compliance with any particular paper edition.

The "legal small print" and other information about this book
may now be found at the end of this file.  Please read this
important information, as it gives you specific rights and
tells you about restrictions in how the file may be used.




This etext was produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net>




[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of the
file for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making an
entire meal of them.  D.W.]




LORD ORMONT AND HIS AMINTA

By George Meredith



BOOK 5.

XXIV.     LOVERS MATED
XXXV.     PREPARATIONS FOR A RESOLVE
XXVI.     VISITS OF FAREWELL
XXVII.    A MARINE DUET
XXVIII.   THE PLIGHTING
XXIX.     AMINTA TO HER LORD
XXX.      CONCLUSION



CHAPTER XXIV

LOVERS MATED

He was benevolently martial, to the extent of paternal, in thinking his
girl, of whom he deigned to think now as his countess, pardonably
foolish.  Woman for woman, she was of a pattern superior to the world's
ordinary, and might run the world's elect a race.  But she was pitifully
woman-like in her increase of dissatisfaction with the more she got.
Women are happier enslaved.  Men, too, if their despot is an Ormont.
Colonel of his regiment, he proved that: his men would follow him
anywhere, do anything.  Grand old days, before he was condemned by one
knows not what extraordinary round of circumstances to cogitate on women
as fluids, and how to cut channels for them, that they may course along
in the direction good for them, imagining it their pretty wanton will to
go that way!  Napoleon's treatment of women is excellent example.
Peterborough's can be defended.

His Aminta could not reason.  She nursed a rancour on account of the blow
she drew on herself at Steignton, and she declined consolation in her
being pardoned.  The reconcilement evidently was proposed as a finale of
one of the detestable feminine storms enveloping men weak enough to let
themselves be dragged through a scene for the sake of domestic
tranquillity.

A remarkable exhibition of Aminta the woman was, her entire change of
front since he had taken her spousal chill.  Formerly she was passive,
merely stately, the chiselled grande dame, deferential in her bearing