He came home more eccentric than ever, and would
disappear for days together, and return, morose and
silent, allowing no word of remonstrance,



« HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE." 297

Through his friend's influence he secured the posi-
tion, at Ambleside, of teacher of the village school,
which unpretending office he retained for many years.
Here he was nearer Wordsworth, his father's dear
friend, and he could easily seek Dora for comfort and
encouragement. But William Wordsworth and his
wife and the vigilant Aunt Dorothy could not let their
darling waste her young heart upon as uncertain and
unsteady a fellow as Hartley Coleridge.
Aunt Dorothy herself had a warm spot for Cole-
ridge's son ; but she kept close guard upon Dora, lest
Hartley Coleridge should come a-courting.
Only when they feared danger to their pet did they
fully realize what it would be for her to be allied to a
man as erratic and uncertain as was Coleridge. Hartley
should never have the chance to treat their Dora as his
father had treated Sarah Coleridge. It was only
through their fears of the son that they understood
where the great fault of the father lay, and realized that
Hartley had inherited Coleridge's tendency to a weak
will and erratic life. Even now, Hartley's good stories
and bright wit made him so popular at the Inn and
by the roadside, that he never knew when to go home.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
