Middlemarch

CHAPITRE LXIX.

Chapter LXIX opens with an epigraph from Ecclesiasticus about keeping silent what one has heard. The chapter unfolds across two main locations. At the Bank, Caleb Garth visits Mr. Bulstrode to inform him that a sick stranger named Raffles has been brought to Stone Court. Bulstrode is visibly shaken, and Garth, though gentle, firmly announces his resignation from Bulstrode’s employment because Raffles has told him damaging truths. Garth pledges to keep these revelations secret, offering Bulstrode a measure of mercy. Bulstrode then rides hastily to Stone Court, hoping to reach Raffles before Lydgate and struggling with prayers mixed with darker wishes for the man’s death. At Stone Court, Raffles is found in a state of confused terror, his memory fractured and his mind unreliable. Lydgate arrives, examines the patient, and concludes that the illness—likely related to long-standing alcohol abuse—is serious but not necessarily fatal. He prescribes careful nursing and the strict avoidance of stimulants. Bulstrode insists on staying the night, and after Lydgate departs, the doctor reflects on his medical philosophy regarding the treatment of such cases, while privately judging Bulstrode’s selective sympathies.

Caleb Garth Brings News of Raffles

Caleb Garth arrives at the Bank while Bulstrode is still in his manager’s room and asks to speak with him. Bulstrode, expecting perhaps a discussion about property improvements, is surprised when Caleb quietly informs him that a very ill stranger has been brought to Stone Court and is in need of a doctor. Caleb names the man as Raffles, and Bulstrode immediately registers a profound shock at the name, for he had believed his fears were too constant to be caught off guard. Caleb explains that he overtook Raffles walking from the toll-house, that Raffles recognized him from a previous visit to Stone Court with Bulstrode, and that Caleb felt it right to give the sick man shelter. He advises Bulstrode to lose no time in obtaining medical help for Raffles.

Bulstrode’s Shock and Fear

Bulstrode’s reaction to the name Raffles is a violent internal shock, though he attempts to mask it with a composed and compassionate tone, calling Raffles a “poor wretch.” His lips tremble slightly despite his effort at control. As he quickly writes a note to Lydgate and dispatches his servant on horseback, Bulstrode’s mind races with calculation. He hopes desperately that Raffles spoke only of his illness to Garth and revealed nothing more damaging. His thoughts turn anxiously over the question of what Garth may have concluded about this disreputable figure’s claim of intimacy with Bulstrode, and he longs for confirmation that his secret remains safe—yet he dares not ask any direct questions for fear of betraying his terror.

Garth Resigns from Bulstrode’s Employment

After dispatching his servant with the note, Bulstrode invites Caleb to remain seated and asks if there was any other business. Caleb, however, has come not only with news of Raffles but also with a decisive resolution. Standing with his hat in hand, he gently but firmly informs Bulstrode that he must request that all his business affairs be transferred to other hands. He acknowledges Bulstrode’s generous treatment regarding Stone Court and other matters, but explains that he cannot continue in the connection. Bulstrode feels this news enter him “like a stab,” and even his attempts at polite protest cannot deflect Caleb’s quiet resolve, which he delivers with a firm gentleness that makes Bulstrode seem to cower before him.

Bulstrode’s Plea and Garth’s Mercy

Bulstrode, desperate to gauge the extent of his exposure, ventures to ask whether Caleb has been led to this decision by slanders from Raffles. Caleb confirms that this is true and that he cannot be happy in working with or profiting from Bulstrode, because Raffles’s words have hurt his mind. When Bulstrode pleads for the chance to know the worst of what has been said, Caleb refuses, waving his hand and bowing his head, declaring that what he has heard will never pass his lips unless forced from him. He acknowledges that Bulstrode’s situation must be bitter but refuses to judge him as wicked. Caleb’s mercy is plain: he has no intention of making Bulstrode’s life harder than it already is. Bulstrode, however, cries out that the very act of being forsaken does make his life harder. Caleb reiterates his solemn assurance of silence, mildly angered by Bulstrode’s implication that he might break his word, and insists that he holds it a crime to expose a man’s sin unless it is necessary to save the innocent. He departs with a wish for Bulstrode’s good day, leaving the banker in profound humiliation.