Original subtitles

Look.

Further down the line now.

Bring up the next load.

The future!

VENDORS SHOUT

CHILD: Throw us a penny!

INAUDIBLE

Here's your bag.

Is it Doctor Lydgate?

Yes. Welcome to Middlemarch, sir.

I understand you've purchased Dr Peacock's practice. Yes, I have.

You'll be kept busy! This way.

We're late. Let's go back. >

BABY CRIES >

Dodo, we're going to be late!

Thank you, Pimble.

I believe I shall give up riding, Celia.

Dodo! Horses need exercising, and Pimble needs employment!

Yes, I know, but is that all we can do -

exercise horses and employ servants?

Well, I don't know, Dodo.

Fences cost money, you know.

They'll cost a lot more if you let 'em rot.

I think there's a middle way, Roach.

< Mr Brooke, the matter's urgent. The cattle are getting out.

Whatever you want, we have!

Now, look at these beautiful pig's trotters.

Come along, sir!

All made this morning! Lovely fresh Middlemarch pies!

MAN COUGHS

WOMAN: He needs purging.

Shall I move him downstairs and have him bled?

No. It's relieving to the spirit to be active,

but in these cases, we can only watch the fever's progress.

I'll look in again tomorrow. Lydgate! How are you?

Reverend Farebrother! Well enough.

Finding your feet? I feel as if I've been here all my life.

Good. Old Mrs Hislop has tales of this place in the old days

that would make your blood run cold, Lydgate.

I doubt it. Doctors aren't easily shocked. You see all sides of life.

I ran into a friend of yours. Trawley was the name.

I knew him in Paris. A political idealist.

He wanted to found a utopian community. Did he do it?

I think not. He'd been a doctor at a German spa,

married his richest patient and retired before he was 30.

More a REALIST than an idealist!

What a shameful waste of a life. Not everyone has your moral fibre.

I'm late for a christening.

Will I be forgiven? I doubt it. Mr Bulstrode.

Ah! Good day to you, Mr Farebrother.

Dr Lydgate, will you do me the favour

of walking over to the bank with me?

The plans for the new hospital are ready for your inspection. Are they?

Good! Of course. Excuse us.

When will it be ready for use? A matter of months. Excellent.

And I can assure you it will be dedicated as a fever hospital.

I've advised that it should.

Is that the new saw-bones?

Yes.

Well spoken of. Clever man. Good family, too, they say.

An excellent design, Mr Bulstrode.

The architect has vision, and he's been well instructed.

In a few years' time, we could have a first-class medical school here.

Why should London have it all?

The causes and treatment of typhoid and cholera

will soon yield to scientific investigation.

Why not here in Middlemarch?

Aye. Where are the kitchens? Oh, I see. Good, good.

You will continue to give your services without payment? Of course.

I have my general practice.

I know I can do good here.

My aim is to do good small work for Middlemarch

and great work for the world. You see, I am ambitious.

I am glad to hear it, sir.

As you know, I mean to entrust to you

the superintendence of my hospital.

You recognise the spiritual interests in your patients?

Of course. This room could be a laboratory.

I refer to the chaplaincy.

I propose that Mr Farebrother is replaced

by Mr Tyke. Oh? What's wrong with Farebrother?

Oh...he is a man deeply painful to contemplate.

I suppose there is not a clergyman in England who has greater talents.

Really? I haven't yet been pained

by finding any excessive talent in Middlemarch!

He dissipates his talents. He lacks spirituality.

He brings his calling into disrepute.

Indeed? I have no knowledge of these matters.

If this were a laboratory... Dr Lydgate.

The chaplaincy will be referred to the board. You will have to vote.

I trust I may ask of you this, at least -

in virtue of our association, which I look forward to -

that you will not be influenced by my opponents in this matter.

I confess to you that the affairs of this temporal world

are nothing to me

when they are in conflict with my spiritual duty.

I trust I make myself clear.

I'm not sure I've made the fireplaces big enough.

"Farm workers' cottages - a new design."

Very nice, but you know Uncle. They'll never be built, Dodo.

Might we look through Mama's jewels now,

and divide them between us?

It would be lacking in respect

if we never looked at them.

And Sir James Chettam and that other gentleman are dining here tonight.

Mr Casaubon. Uncle says he is a most learned man.

What about Mama's jewels?

You would like to WEAR them? I thought we BOTH might.

Look.

Wear it with your Indian muslin.

Dodo, I thought this cross for you.

Not as a trinket! You have it. Have them all.

How can I wear ornaments if you never will?

I cannot wear trinkets to keep you in countenance!

They are lovely, though.

You know, it's strange how deeply colours seem to penetrate one.

Like a scent.

They look like fragments of heaven.

Here's a bracelet to match it. Try it, Dodo.

They are lovely. And necklaces are quite usual now, really, Dodo,

even for Christians.

There must be women in heaven who wore jewels.

Keep these, if nothing else.

Perhaps I shall.

Sir Humphry Davy, now... I dined with him years ago.

Wordsworth was there, you know.

The poet.

Davy was a poet, too, you know.

Or, as you might say, Wordsworth was poet one, and Davy was poet two.

Wordsworth was poet one, Davy was poet two!

D'you know Davy, Casaubon?

No, sir. I regret that I do not.

Chettam studied Davy

and his agricultural chemistry, but it won't do.

I am reading it, Miss Brooke,

because I want to take one of my farms over

and set a good pattern to my tenants. Do you approve of that?

Yes. Very much indeed, Sir James.

I wish my uncle would do the same.

No, no!

Fancy farming!

Most expensive whistle you can buy.

May as well keep a pack of hounds.

Surely it's no sin to spend money on the land.

Ladies don't understand political economy.

A little light literature is more suitable.

Uncle! Novels, you know.

Poetry - Scott,

Shelley.

Southey.

Do you know Southey, Casaubon?

I have, at present, little leisure for... modern literature.

I live too much with the dead, perhaps.

Casaubon's engaged on a great work, aren't you, Casaubon?

I believe I am, yes.

Perhaps too great a work for the mind of one man to compass.

May I know what it is, Mr Casaubon?

I'm compiling a key to all mythologies, Miss Brooke.

I am seeking to elucidate those elements

which underpin every system of belief known to man.

Not a subject of great interest to young ladies.

On the contrary. It is a wonderful endeavour.

You're very kind, Miss Brooke. I'm much encouraged.

How do you arrange your documents? Pigeon-holes, partly.

They won't do. I never know whether a paper's in A or Z.

Let me sort them, Uncle.

I would letter them all and make a list of subjects under each letter.

An excellent secretary!

I hear you're determined to give up riding, Miss Brooke.

Surely it isn't true. It is, Sir James. Oh, but why?

You're such an accomplished horsewoman,

and it is healthy exercise.

Every lady should be a horsewoman, that she may accompany her husband.

Surely you don't think horseriding is wrong. I think it wrong for ME.

Why? I feel there should be a better way to live.

But, surely...!

We should not enquire too closely of motives.

I understand Miss Brooke.

Thank you.

There is so much that is trivial about our lives. I'm so ignorant.

My education has been so imperfect.

There's so much to do.

So much to learn.

You're truly interested in scholarship, then? Oh, yes!

It must be wonderful to be engaged in some great work, as you are.

It is a great challenge to... bring together all the major disciplines -

theology, philosophy, cosmology,

to show how every faith springs from the same ultimate source.

It is a great endeavour.

My notes present a formidable range of volumes, but the crowning task

is to condense these still-expanding insights

into a unified whole. Yes!

Miss Brooke...

..this visit, for me, has been... May I say this?

..more than pleasant.

I have felt the...disadvantage of...loneliness

that inevitably accompanies any serious scholarship.

But the presence of youth, of cheerful companionship...

Perhaps I've said too much.

No, not at all.

I feel I understand you.

And if I say that I've longed for some great purpose in my life

that would give it shape and meaning...

..you do not find such an aspiration ridiculous?

Surprising in one so young, but not ridiculous.

No!

Not ridiculous at all.

It is time for me to leave.

Yes, of course.

Now, then. A good journey to you,

and, er, a safe one.

They'll take you a good crack.

Well, well. He's not such a bad fellow, after all.

LAUGHTER FROM INSIDE

Eighty-nine!

Luck of the Devil, Mr Farebrother! >

Lovely player! He could've made a living at it.

He DOES, near enough!

It pays for his butter, if not his bread! >

Vicaring don't pay. I don't blame him.

APPLAUSE

Mr Farebrother!

Found another lamb to fleece, Mr Farebrother? >

More fool you, Mr Fred, for playing with a clergyman!

Clergy always wins. God's on their side.

So He is, Mrs Dollop!

Thank you.

Master Vincy! >

Here.

I can't afford to pay you yet, Mr Bambridge.

I'm not surprised!

I hope I shan't have to talk to your father about it.

< Mr Bambridge?

Mr Farebrother! Your winnings.

Oh, good!

Good evening.

Evening, Mrs Dollop.

Evening, Mr Farebrother.

Lydgate!

Well met!

Are you busy? Where are you off to?

A solitary supper. There's an experiment I want to think about.

Postpone it. Come and take supper at my house. I insist.

You can inspect my collection. What do you say?

Goodnight, Camden, dear.

Goodnight, Mother.

Goodnight, all.

Formidable!

You're a scientist.

I keep my mind alive.

You have no hobbies? There's much I want to achieve in my profession...

..practically and in theory.

I have the ocean to swim in here.

Many would call this a backwater.

It's ideal for me. I want to work on fever - prevention and treatment.

I can show dramatic results in a small town.

By example, I want to bring about a general reform in practice.

We shouldn't be selling panaceas that are as useful as ditch-water!

You'd like to make Middlemarch a model for all England.

That's exactly right!

In the country you can follow your own course. People let you alone.

Hmm. Lydgate, I think I should warn you...

You're new to Middlemarch. It's not the simple place it seems.

For example, you're my friend, I hope,

but if you vote for me as chaplain,

you'll make an enemy of Bulstrode,

and that is something no-one should do lightly. He can do you harm.

I hope I act on my beliefs,

not out of petty expediency.

Life's too short for that sort of provincial moral shabbiness.

What does he have against you?

That I don't teach his opinions,

which he calls spiritual religion.

It's the sort of Christianity

that makes people feel uncomfortable, not better.

It makes me shudder!

And he says I haven't time to look after both hospitals. It's true...

..but I could MAKE the time.

I should be glad of the £40.

I should be happier to earn it in the exercise of my vocation,

rather than at billiards or cards!

But let's dismiss all that.

If you do vote with Bulstrode, you're not to cut me in consequence.

Idealism and intelligence are thin on the ground here.

I simply can't afford to do without you, Lydgate.

Thank you, Pritchard.

Knock at Mr Fred's door and say it is half past ten!

Yes, Mrs Vincy.

Mama, when Fred comes down,

don't give him red herrings. I cannot bear the smell.

Rosamond, a red herring's not much!

Women must put up with things.

If it's only the smell of a herring, you are lucky.

You'll be married one day.

Yes, but not to anyone like Fred, or anyone who has herrings!

NO-ONE from Middlemarch.

You've refused the pick of them!

Mama, I wish you would not say "the pick of them".

It is a vulgar expression.

Yes. Very likely, my dear. What SHOULD I say?

The BEST of them.

That sounds just as plain and common to me, but you must know, dear.

Morning, Mother, Rosy.

Rosamond!

Ham, toast, potted beef. Is there nothing else, Pritchard?

Should you like eggs, sir? Eggs? No! Bring me a grilled bone. Yes, sir.

What would you think if I came down and ordered grilled bone?

That you were an uncommonly fast young lady!

You are disagreeable! "Disagreeable" describes your feelings, Rosy!

It describes the smell of a grilled bone. No.

It describes certain finicking notions

acquired in finishing school.

I shall ride over to Stone Court. Oh?

To see Mary Garth.

YOU should see your uncle more often, Rosy.

He wanted you to live with him, and now Mary Garth has got in there!

It was either that or become a governess!

I'd rather NOTHING was left to me

if I must endure him and his ugly relations.

You cannot afford to be proud.

Your uncle is fond of you, but he'll leave you NOTHING

unless you are agreeable.

His horrid relations are camped out

in that parlour, night and day, like carrion crows!

The least you could do is go and see him. He's not long for this world.

Very well, Mama. I'll go with Fred.

I'll even sing Ye Banks And Braes for the 137,000th time,

if my uncle requests me to.

Mama says that there is a new doctor attending Uncle.

Lydgate. Clever fellow.

I see! What do you mean?

Now I know why we're going to Stone Court! Fred!

Dammit! I wish I had a decent horse!

There, there. Never mind, Sugar. Come on.

# Ye'll break my heart, ye warbling birds,

# That warble on

# The flowery thorn... #

HE COUGHS

# Ye mind me of departed joys

# Departed

# Never to return. #

Very good, missy! >

Just like a little blackbird.

What would SHE know of departed joys? Not much, I hope!

THEY LAUGH FEEBLY

Fred, come here.

Be off with the lot of you. I've got a bone to pick with this boy here.

That's it. Sit close. Good boy.

Now, then...

A little bird tells me

you've got into debt by playing billiards for money.

And this same little bird tells me

that you've been borrowing on your expectations.

You tell folk that I'm leaving you my land,

and raise cash on the strength of it.

Indeed I do not, sir! Bulstrode, the banker, tells a different tale.

Then he's mistaken, sir, or he's lying, or your LITTLE BIRD is!

I can alter my will,

and I shall, unless you contradict the story.

I HAVE contradicted it, Uncle!

Yes, but I want documentation from Bulstrode,

saying, clearly, that he hears nothing against you in this respect.

Beg Bulstrode? A gentleman shouldn't ask it!

Suit yourself. There are plenty of others I can leave my money to.

Aye! Money's a good egg...

STARTS COUGHING

Here, Mr Featherstone.

That's it. Drink up.

You're a good girl, Mary.

You've got a plain face and a sharp tongue

and I daresay you'll never get a husband,

but you're a good girl. The best girl I know!

IS she, now?! Did you get the books I sent you, Mary? Yes, thank you.

Why do you want books?

Because I'm fond of reading!

TOO fond!

You have the newspaper to read to

me. That's enough.

I like to read to myself, as well, and I SHALL.

You shall NOT! I can't abide seeing her read to herself. It's unnatural.

You mind not to bring her any more books. Do you hear?

Yes, sir, I hear.

Ah! My little blackbird.

We haven't had Home, Sweet Home.

I'm sure everyone thinks I've sung enough. I'll sing it next time.

I may be in my coffin next time!

Oh! Oh...!

Home, Sweet Home, if you please.

THEY WHISPER

# Mid pleasures and palaces

# Though we may roam... #

HE DRONES ALONG

< # Be it ever so humble

# There's no...

# There's no place

# Like home

# There's no place

# Like home. #

SHE PLAYS CLOSING CHORDS

Very pretty. Very nice.

Ah! Here he comes, at last. >

The man of the moment! Dr Lydgate, my niece, Miss Rosamond Vincy.

How do you do, Miss Vincy?

I'd heard Miss Vincy was a musician.

I hadn't expected so much talent.

Best in Middlemarch, >

I'll be bound!

Middlemarch is not a high standard.

We must be leaving. I told Mama... Fred?

Where is my whip? Oh.

Thank you.

His uncle is a baronet.

There was a Lydgate at Oxford who spent no end of money.

But rich men may have paupers for cousins.

It always matters to be of a good family.

Did Mary say anything about me?

Yes. She said she thought you were very unsteady,

and that if you asked her to marry you, she'd refuse.

Well, she might have waited till I DID ask!

What do you see in her? She's not a girl to fall in love with.

How would YOU know what men fall in love with?

Did she really say that?

I always tell the truth.

She's right. I am unsteady.

But I do love her, Rosy.

Oh, Lord! Now I must get Father to butter up Uncle Bulstrode.

Mmm.

Miss Brooke!

Morning, Lucy.

Can I have some of these? Of course. Could you look after Monk, Ben?

Morning, Mrs Barnacle. Morning, Miss Brooke.

How's your husband? Still bad, Miss Brooke.

May I come in? Very honoured, Miss.

BABY CRIES

PAINFUL COUGHING

WHEEZING BREATHS

Give him some of that jelly.

The room's damp. I told Mr Brooke about the roof.

I shall remind him again.

Thank you. It's very good of you.

Miss Brooke!

I was on my way to see you. I have a little petitioner for you.

What is it? A little Maltese gentleman.

I'm sorry, but I cannot bear toy breeds.

I should be terrified of treading on it. My eyesight's rather poor.

Well, well, no matter. John, take this.

DOG YAPS

Can't stand the things myself, but they tell me ladies like 'em.

May I walk with you? Yes, of course.

It's terrible that we live in ease while our tenants rot in pig-sties.

We deserve to be beaten out of our beautiful houses

with a scourge of small cords! You think THAT? Yes.

You have your own opinion about EVERYTHING, Miss Brooke.

Do you know, I...I envy you that.

Lovegood was telling me that you've made a plan for new cottages.

He was full of praise. They will come to nothing.

Uncle won't consent to anything that costs him money.

It's shameful.

Miss Brooke, I should like to consult your plans if I may.

I am determined to build new cottages at Freshitt.

How very good of you, Sir James.

Nothing would please me more.

How wonderful it would be

if we could set a pattern about here.

He's setting a BAD example! The cottages are madness!

Of course, he's a rich man. He can

afford his follies,

but he should

think of the consequences to others.

We shall all end up out of pocket, I make no doubt.

Well...so be it.

I shall go over to Lowick and ask Casaubon to dine again.

Oh, no! Mmm? Oh, well, perhaps not.

Yes, yes, carry on.

I hope you'll invite Mr Casaubon as often as he's willing to come.

Dodo! One can be sure of intelligent conversation. What of Sir James?

He would do anything you wish.

He is a good creature.

More sensible than anyone imagines.

I suppose you know he's in love with you. Celia!

Anyone with eyes can see that.

He loves you,

and thinks you return his affection.

Why? I never agreed with him about

ANYTHING but the cottages.

I had to tell you. You went on as always -

never seeing what is quite plain to everyone else.

I must have no more to do with the cottages.

I know it's your favourite fad...

Fad?! Do you think I only care about people's homes in that childish way?

How can one be nobly Christian among people with such petty thoughts?

DOOR SLAMS

Vincy, I stretch my tolerance towards your family

because you are my wife's brother!

As for your son, Frederick, it was entirely from worldly vanity

that you sent him to university.

Now you are reaping the reward of your own folly.

There's no going back!

It's a good British feeling

to try to raise your family a little!

It's my duty to help my son! Do you mean us to come down in the world?

I am not sure I should be befriending your son

by helping him to acquire Featherstone's property.

If you only want SAINTS to have money,

you must give up some profitable partnerships!

That's all I can say!

Trying to play bishop and banker makes a man's name stink!

Vincy, it was not your prudence or judgement,

but my material help that has enabled you

to keep your place in the trade!

I like to be master. I can't deny it.

We're family. We must stick together.

If you won't stop these rumours,

you may as well slander him yourself.

I'd consider it...

..unhandsome of you to refuse to write this letter,

brother Bulstrode.

I'd consider it very unhandsome.

"..And I distinctly affirm...

"..that I have no information that your son...

"..borrowed any money on any property

"that might accrue to him on Mr Featherstone's demise."

Accrue! Property! Demise!

Fine words for a speculative man!

Come from nowhere, that one, too!

Mind you, I hear he owns your father lock, stock and barrel.

Or his BANK does.

What do you expect now? A fortune?

There we are.

There...

..and there...

..and there...and...

..there.

That's all.

You might show a little gratitude.

Thank you, sir. I'm very much obliged to you.

Yes! I should think you are!

Mary! Am I wanted?

No. I came to see YOU, Mary.

What's the matter?

Mary, you'll think I'm a despicable fellow.

Uncle Featherstone has given me £100.

£100?!

Yes.

It's very generous. I am grateful, but I was hoping it might be more,

because I'm in debt for £160,

and a friend - a very GOOD friend -

has signed a bill of security for me,

taking on the whole sum!

I was hoping Uncle might clear it,

and then I could start afresh. You see?

I confess everything to you.

That makes everything better? No!

You looked so sad when I came in just now.

It's a shame you should stay and be bullied!

I have an easy life compared to some.

I tried being a teacher, but I wasn't fit for that.

My mind's too fond of wandering.

I can't be a clergyman. I never said you SHOULD!

There are other sorts of work, aren't there?

Oh, Fred! Why can't you resolve on something sensible and stick to it?

I'm good for NOTHING if you don't love me.

My father says an idle man shouldn't exist, let alone MARRY.

Then what am I to do? Blow my brains out?!

No. On the whole, I think you'd do better to pass your examination.

Mr Farebrother says it is disgracefully easy.

Everything's easy to HIM! I could pass.

I'm ten times as clever as some of the men that pass.

Then you must be ten times as IDLE!

But if I passed, you wouldn't want me to go into the Church, would you?

It's not what I want! What do YOU think?

I know that if you won't give me any encouragement, I shall get WORSE!

I can't give encouragement to a man who gets into debt and won't work!

What news have you brought, Uncle? News about what? The sheep stealer.

Were you not at the assizes?

Oh, yes. Poor John Bunch. It seems that we can't let him off.

He's to be hanged. Uncle!

There's nothing to be done. Let's go inside.

There's a sharp air. I feel it, driving.

I came by Lowick. Talked with Casaubon.

Saw his library and that kind of thing.

He greatly enjoyed his visits here over the last few weeks.

Yes...

Yes, Uncle? Ah, well...

He seems to have a high opinion of YOU, my dear.

A very high opinion indeed.

The fact is,

he asked permission to pay his addresses to you.

I told him you were very young, and so forth.

I had to tell him there was very little chance, you know.

But I had to promise the poor fellow that I would speak with you,

so there you have it.

I am very grateful to Mr Casaubon.

If he makes me an offer, I shall accept him.

That's very well...

..but, Chettam, have you not thought of HIM? He is a very good match.

Our lands lie together,

and I believe that Chettam, too,

wishes to marry you. I mention it, you see.

It's impossible that I should ever marry Sir James.

If he thinks of marrying me, he has made a great mistake.

I should have thought he was just the sort of man a woman liked.

Please do not mention him in that light again.

Casaubon, now...

Well, he's a good match in some ways. He's a clever man, a scholar.

I never got anything out of him, any ideas.

However, he's a tip-top man. May be Bishop.

But, you know, he's over five and forty, and his health's not strong.

Marriage can be a noose, my dear.

You're fond of your own opinions, but a man likes to be master.

I only mention these things to you.

I don't want a husband of my own age.

He should be above me in judgement and experience, knowledge.

I know I must expect trials.

I've never thought of marriage as personal ease.

I admire and honour Mr Casaubon more than any man I ever saw.

Well, my dear...

..that being so...

..I have a letter for you

from Mr Casaubon here in my pocket.

Yes, here it is.

"My dear Miss Brooke,

"I have your guardian's permission to address you

"on a subject than which I have none more at heart.

"From the first, I discerned in you a rare combination of elements

"uniquely compatible with my own needs -

"elevation of thought and capability of devotion,

"allied to graces of sex beyond all my hopes.

"Had I not made your acquaintance, I might well have gone to the last

"without any attempt to lighten my solitariness by a matrimonial union.

"To be accepted by you as your husband, my dear Miss Brooke,

"would be the highest of providential gifts.

"In return, I can at least offer you an affection

"hitherto unwasted."

Uncle says Mr Casaubon is dining again.

I hope someone else is there

and I shan't hear him eat his soup.

What's so remarkable about his soup eating?

The way he scrapes his spoon!

Don't make any more observations of that kind.

Why not? They are quite true!

Many things are true which only the commonest minds see.

Then common minds are useful.

If his mother had a common mind, she might have taught him better! Celia!

It is right to tell you, Celia,

that I am engaged to marry Mr Casaubon. Oh, Dodo...!

I hope you will be happy.

I beg your pardon if I said anything to hurt you.

Oh, never mind, Kitty. Don't grieve.

We should never admire the same people.

Casaubon! Good God, it's horrible!

It's very vexing.

What business has a shrivelled old bachelor to marry a young girl?

He has one foot in the grave! He's taking it OUT!

Apparently, she says he has a great soul.

A great bladder for dried peas to rattle in!

It does seem most unfair.

Brooke ought not to allow it. He should insist on it being put off!

Brooke only insists on not spending money! Horrible, Mrs Cadwallader!

It IS!

I don't think of myself.

..Not entirely.

I think of HER.

I throw her over. With you, she might have become a sensible woman,

but now I wish her joy of her hair shirt. Very perverse.

Very perverse indeed.

However, Chettam...

..if I were a man...

..I think I should prefer Celia.

Celia?

I think you'll find she admires you

as much as a man expects to be admired.

She is a sweet girl.

Very fond of geraniums.

More docile than her sister, though not quite so fine a figure.

I think I should prefer Celia

if I were a man.

Oh, dear.

After you, my dear. Here we are then.

Welcome to Lowick. Thank you!

Well, it's a good old house, you know.

Decent proportions.

I went into all that once - Palladio and so forth.

It's all a bit dark and bare at present.

Bachelor's house, of course. Bachelor's house.

This is my library.

As you may well imagine, a great deal of my time is spent in here.

And these are my notebooks...

..for my OWN work...

..The Key To All Mythologies.

I think I should begin to learn Latin and Greek, Edward.

I could read to you, as Milton's daughters did to their father.

Those young ladies regarded that exercise in unknown tongues

as a rebellion!

I hope you don't expect ME to be rebellious, Edward.

Latin and Greek...

I fear it might be rather wearisome for you.

It would be a great advantage if you could copy the Greek characters,

and, to that end, it might be very well to begin with a little reading.

QUOTES CLASSICAL GREEK

"Education is a possession which none can take away."

It would only take a very little, you know. Lighter colours, perhaps.

What do you think of duck egg blue? Everything is as I would wish it.

I am delighted to hear it, my dear.

Now, favour me with an opinion

of the room I have planned as your boudoir.

Oh, yes! Well!

This could make a pretty room with some kind of new hangings,

a sofa or two, that sort of thing.

It's rather bare now. Uncle, don't speak of altering ANYTHING. Oh.

Was this your mother's room, Edward?

Indeed it was.

And this...

..is your mother.

And who is this?

Her elder sister.

The sister is pretty.

It is an interesting face.

You never mentioned her to me, Edward. No.

My aunt...made an unfortunate marriage. I never saw her.

Shall we walk in the garden?

Who's that youngster sketching over there?

A young relative of mine.

The grandson of the lady whose portrait you noticed -

my Aunt Julia.

Oh!

You're an artist, I see!

No. I only sketch a little.

There's nothing fit to be seen. Oh, come now!

My cousin, Mr Ladislaw. Will, Miss Dorothea

and Miss Celia Brooke. How do you do? How do you do, Miss Brooke?

Mr Brooke.

This is a nice bit...is it not?

I did a little myself

in this way, at one time. Did you know THAT?

Oh!

This is what I call a nice little thing!

Done with what we used to call brio, mmm?

I am no judge, Uncle.

I can never see the beauty of pictures that are praised.

It is a language I don't understand. Well, there we are.

You'll come to my house

and I'll show you what I've done in this line. Thank you.

Well, shall we walk on?

What's that young man going to do with himself, Casaubon?

Is he going to be a painter, or a poet? He has the look of a poet.

Shelley had that look in his eyes.

The answer to your question, sir, is painfully doubtful.

My cousin is many things, but nothing in particular.

To be more charitable, he has not yet found his vocation.

His present purpose is to travel abroad.

To what end, I do not know.

Culture, he says. I have agreed to support him for a year or so.

He shall be tried by the test of freedom.

Arabella, my dear!

Brooke has invited half the town, as well as the county!

What a to-do! He was never one to spend money like this!

There's Bulstrode, the banker, and the new sawbones, Lydgate.

LADY CHETTAM: One hears well of him.

He is a gentleman,

but I can remember when medical men

knew their place -

with the servants. Hicks, for example.

He was butcher-like, but he understood my constitution.

This is too much! Brooke is asking us to sit down with tradespeople!

Middlemarch bag-men! There's Vincy!

The ribbon manufacturer!

Well, I'm quite happy to peruse his pattern book,

but I don't want to eat my dinner with the fellow,

or his awful wife! It'll be some whim of Brooke's. He means well.

I'll tell you what he means.

He means to go into politics and stand for Parliament!

And as a Liberal!

is got up in aid of -

Friends, a few brief words on this happy occasion.

We celebrate the betrothal of my dear niece, Dorothea,

to my good and learned friend, the Reverend Casaubon,

and to share their happiness.

Marriage, you know, is a joining, a union,

a sort of closing up, d'you see?

And yet, in another sense,

it's a reaching out, an exploration, if you will,

and so forth...

Progress. Well, that is going to happen, whether we like it or not,

and that's why I am for it.

That's why I welcome progressive men.

Er... men who have the well-being of their fellow men at heart,

and women, too, of course!

Here's Mr Bulstrode,

of the bank.

You're very welcome, sir!

And Mayor Vincy...who, er...

Excellent! Yes.

And Dr Lydgate, who studied in Paris.

All the new ideas for the new hospital.

Progress, d'you see? Progress and reform.

But in a spirit of temperance and moderation.

Let it never be said that Brooke was NOT for progress and reform.

Excellent!

Yes.

I forgot! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the toast -

the happy couple!

ALL: The happy couple!

CHATTER BREAKS OUT

My thanks again, sir. A most delightful occasion.

I'm fond of my nieces. Fonder than I can say.

I've tried to do my best for them since their parents died,

as far as a bachelor can.

Nothing means more to me than that they should be happy.

You intend to extend your wedding journey as far as Rome.

The weather will be mild, and there are manuscripts in the Vatican

which will be invaluable to my research.

I long to see the antiquities. Edward can tell you all about them.

I shall not detain you longer. We shall meet again very soon.

I still regret that your sister is not to accompany us.

You will have many lonely hours.

I shall feel constrained to make the utmost use of my time in Rome.

I should feel more at liberty if you had a companion.

More at liberty?

If you had a companion, I could put you both in the care of a cicerone,

and we would achieve two purposes at once.

You misunderstand me, Edward, if you think I should not value your time.

Please do not refer to this again.

Please don't be anxious about me.

Very well, my dear.

As you wish.

I can't hold it...! I can't be expected...! Continue to sponge him.

He's holding his own.

Is it cholera?

It's a fever, but it isn't cholera,

I assure you. Your children are all well?

Yes, thank you, sir.

D'you see? It's broke again! >

I wish he could be more comfortable.

When the new hospital opens,

we'll be able to treat fevers of all kinds.

But your man will be himself again long before that. That's my opinion.

Thank you, sir.

All right.

READS SILENTLY

KNOCK ON DOOR

Good morning, Doctor.

You asked to see me.

Ah, yes, yes. I did.

I was wondering if you'd come to a conclusion about the chaplaincy.

Is that all?

It is of great importance to me

that the spiritual care of the patients

be given to a man worthy of the charge.

Will you support me and vote for Mr Tyke?

I don't know Mr Tyke. I'm sure he's a worthy man, but so is Farebrother.

He's done unpaid duty long enough.

I am a doctor. I have no opinion on such matters.

Then I earnestly advise you to FORM one, Doctor.

A great deal may depend on it.

MUSIC AND LAUGHTER

Delicious, Mrs Vincy!

Enjoy the cards.

We will!

Is this the first of your parties the Doctor has been to? >

Yes. Yes, it is.

I daresay you're used to far grander parties, but ours are just as jolly.

You can't be serious about Tyke! >

Oh, no! Not for ME!

His sermons are nothing but

evangelical doctrine. Eh, Lydgate?

You get no cant from Farebrother! >

He'll sit down to whist with ANYONE. >

- How will you vote, Vincy? - Not on the board now. >

However I voted, I'd be offending SOMEONE.

What do YOU think, Dr Lydgate?

I know very little of the case,

but appointments should not be made on the basis of personal liking.

If you want reform,

sometimes you have to pension off all those good fellows.

Hang your reforms! Humbug! What's wrong with good fellows?

There's not enough of them!

Mr Farebrother, you've done again!

Farebrother's won again!

Every time!

What do I owe you, Fred?

Five pennies, Mrs Plymdale.

Lydgate.

Are you avoiding me, having decided to vote against me?

I haven't decided on my vote, but I'll never cut you.

Sometimes I feel I shall starve for want of intelligent conversation.

Still, first things first. Here's the serious business of the evening!

Have a game of whist.

Oh, Doctor, please!

Thank you, no. No?!

You're not the serious man I took you for! You're too light for this!

Now, what's trumps?

Dr Lydgate. Miss Vincy.

You must find us dull in Middlemarch.

When I think of how we must seem through your eyes,

we must seem very stupid.

You have lived in Paris.

I have only been once to LONDON. I'm just a raw country girl.

You call yourself a raw country girl?

Well, I pass at Middlemarch, but...

..I'm really afraid of YOU.

I take Middlemarch as it comes.

You have nothing to fear. I've found some charms

that are greater than I expected.

The rides towards Tipton and Lowick? Everyone is pleased with those.

No. I mean something much nearer to me.

< MR FAREBROTHER!!

I do not believe what you have done!

You plunderer! You thief! You've ruined me, you have!

Mrs Plymdale...!

BULSTRODE: 'Farebrother is a man deeply painful to contemplate.

'He lacks spirituality. He brings his calling into disrepute.

'..A great deal may depend on it.'

INAUDIBLE

Do you have time, Edward? My dear, my work has led me to neglect you.

I have set aside today for your diversion.

Not today.

Not today.

This site is regarded by many as one of the finest on the continent.

Rome is among several cities

to which an extreme hyperbole has been applied -

"See Rome and die."

In your case, I would make an emendation -

"See Rome as a bride, and live thenceforth as a happy wife."

I thought you might like to visit the Palazzo Doria Pamphili.

Would YOU like to see it? It is highly esteemed by the cognoscenti.

Yes, but do you CARE about it?

I'm ready to go if you wish it.

Are you not tired, Edward?

My dear, as I said, today is for your diversion.

Fatigue is neither here nor there.

Edward, I do not need diversions.

I love to visit the antiquities, but only if YOU enjoy it, too.

I would be far happier if you would let me help you with your research.

Most persons think it worthwhile to visit the Palazzo Doria Pamphili.

The great family which created the collection

reached its peak in the 17th century,

when their son came to the chair of St Peter as Innocent X.

The god, Apollo, or Phoebus.

I suspect of the Augustan period.

The cult of Apollo is linked to that of Bacchus

and inspired the appalling excesses of the Bacchanalian revels.

Note how the male and female principles are combined.

The ancients believed that this combination...

..served as an inspiration to the arts and music.

Look at this, Edward.

A common theme in Athenian sculpture.

< Cupid and Venus.

Probably an inferior copy of a Greek original.

Perhaps we've seen enough for one day. Shall we go?

I believe we are very near the Capitoline Library.

I wonder if you might allow me half an hour to consult some documents.

Of course.

Why didn't you say so before?

There's much here of great interest for you. A half an hour then.

GERMAN ACCENT: Look at this woman!

Beautiful.

I should like to paint her as the Madonna.

Good God!

Do you know her?

I do.

She's...married to my cousin.

She's married? But I saw her with some old Geistlicher! Who was he?

The father? The uncle? Her husband.

Introduce her to me, Ladislaw!

I must paint her! Confound you, Naumann! I'm not so brazen as you!

MAN: Well, I go for Farebrother.

Put £40 in his pocket and you'll do no harm.

He's a good fellow, without too much of the parson about him.

Oh, indeed, Mr Hawley,

for he spends half his days in the Green Dragon

playing billiards for money!

Mr Tyke is a real gospel preacher.

It would be against my conscience to vote against Tyke.

Vote against BULSTRODE, you mean!

I beg your pardon, sir?!

Good afternoon to you! Am I the last?

No. Our chairman, Mr Bulstrode, hasn't arrived yet.

Nor his protegy, the uniquely talented Dr Lydgate(!)

Why should one man have this town in his pocket

just because half the town owes him money?

Good day, gentlemen.

Good day.

Oh. I see we are not yet all assembled.

Nevertheless, we meet today, gentlemen,

as directors of the board of the hospital,

to appoint a chaplain.

The issue is between Mr Farebrother and Mr Tyke.

The qualities of each are known to us all,

but if anyone wishes to speak...

Ah, yes, well, Farebrother and Tyke...

both excellent men in their way...

you know...

And a chaplain with a salary...

I believe that Mr Tyke is everything he should be.

How's that?

Apostolic and so forth, you know?

I'm sure we're happy to vote for him.

You've been crammed, Mr Brooke.

What? What about Farebrother? He has been doing the work without pay.

MURMURS OF ASSENT

If pay is to be given, it should be given to HIM!

I call it a confounded job to take the thing away from him!

ALL: Hear, hear!

Yes, well, Farebrother... Yes...

BULSTRODE: Excuse me.

Mr Hawley, Mr Brooke has been fully informed

of Mr Farebrother's character.

Yes. By his enemies!

I take it there is no personal hostility here.

I'll swear there damn well IS!

Perhaps we should vote now.

Please write the name of your candidate.

Ah! Here's our man.

Apologies, gentlemen.

Well, gentlemen,

I perceive the votes are equally divided at present. Dr Lydgate,

would you write your vote, please?

Well, THAT'S settled it!

Damned scandalous!

You speak with some peculiar meaning, sir!

I expect you to vote with Mr Bulstrode, that's all, sir.

Do you find that offensive?

It may be, but I shall not desist

from voting with him on THAT account!

Mr Tyke is hereby elected to the post of chaplain.

< Thank you.

Ah, well, there you are.