CHAPTER XXI 283
" Her name is Reed , sir -- Mrs . Reed ."
" Reed of Gateshead ? There was a Reed of Gateshead , a magistrate ." " It is his widow , sir ." " And what have you to do with her ? How do you know her ?" " Mr . Reed was my uncle -- my mother ' s brother ."
" The deuce he was ! You never told me that before : you always said you had no relations ."
" None that would own me , sir . Mr . Reed is dead , and his wife cast me off ." " Why ?" " Because I was poor , and burdensome , and she disliked me ."
" But Reed left children ? -- you must have cousins ? Sir George Lynn was talking of a Reed of Gateshead yesterday , who , he said , was one of the veriest rascals on town ; and Ingram was mentioning a Georgiana Reed of the same place , who was much admired for her beauty a season or two ago in London ."
" John Reed is dead , too , sir : he ruined himself and half-ruined his family , and is supposed to have committed suicide . The news so shocked his mother that it brought on an apoplectic attack ."
" And what good can you do her ? Nonsense , Jane ! I would never think of running a hundred miles to see an old lady who will , perhaps , be dead before you reach her : besides , you say she cast you off ."
" Yes , sir , but that is long ago ; and when her circumstances were very different : I could not be easy to neglect her wishes now ."