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Cariology in the 21st Century
State of the Art and Future Perspectives

Proceedings of a Symposium
held at the 50th Anniversary ORCA Congress,
July 2–6, 2003, Konstanz, Germany

Guest Editors
B. Nyvad, Aarhus
J.M. ten Cate, Amsterdam
C. Robinson, Leeds

28 figures, 4 in color, and 21 tables, 2004

Basel • Freiburg • Paris • London • New York •

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S. Karger Drug Dosage All rights reserved.
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 Vol. 38, No. 3, 2004

Contents

167 Introduction 254 Fluorides in Caries Prevention and Control:

Nyvad, B. (Aarhus); ten Cate, J.M. (Amsterdam); Robinson, C. Empiricism or Science
(Leeds) ten Cate, J.M. (Amsterdam)
168 Clinical Manifestations and Treatment of Caries 258 Systemic versus Topical Fluoride
from 1953 to Global Changes in the 20th Century Hellwig, E.; Lennon, Á.M. (Freiburg/Göttingen)
König, K.G. (Nijmegen)
263 How to Improve the Effectiveness of Caries-
173 Changes in Dental Caries 1953–2003 Preventive Programs Based on Fluoride
Marthaler, T.M. (Zurich) Hausen, H. (Oulu)
182 Changing Paradigms in Concepts on Dental Caries: 268 The Effect of Fluoride on the Developing Tooth
Consequences for Oral Health Care Robinson, C.; Connell, S.; Kirkham, J.; Brookes, S.J.; Shore, R.C.;
Fejerskov, O. (Aarhus) Smith, A.M. (Leeds)

192 Diagnosis versus Detection of Caries 277 Sugars – The Arch Criminal?
Nyvad, B. (Aarhus) Zero, D.T. (Indianapolis, Ind.)

199 Diagnostic Levels in Dental Public Health Planning 286 Sugar Alcohols: What Is the Evidence for Caries-
Ismail, A. (Ann Arbor, Mich.) Preventive and Caries-Therapeutic Effects?
van Loveren, C. (Amsterdam)
204 Dental Plaque as a Microbial Biofilm
Marsh, P.D. (Salisbury) 294 Are We Ready to Move from Operative to
Non-Operative/Preventive Treatment of Dental
212 Application of the Zürich Biofilm Model to Problems
Caries in Clinical Practice?
of Cariology
Pitts, N.B. (Dundee)
Guggenheim, B.; Guggenheim, M.; Gmür, R. (Zürich);
Giertsen, E. (Bergen); Thurnheer, T. (Zürich) 305 How ‘Clean’ Must a Cavity Be before Restoration?
Kidd, E.A.M. (London)
223 Antimicrobials in Future Caries Control? A Review
with Special Reference to Chlorhexidine Treatment 314 The Future Role of a Molecular Approach to Pulp-
Twetman, S. (Umeå) Dentinal Regeneration
Tziafas, D. (Thessaloniki)
230 A Caries Vaccine? The State of the Science of
Immunization against Dental Caries 321 Getting Research into Clinical Practice – Barriers and
Russell, M.W. (Buffalo, N.Y.); Childers, N.K.; Michalek, S.M. Solutions
(Birmingham, Ala.); Smith, D.J.; Taubman, M.A. (Boston, Mass.) Clarkson, J.E. (Dundee)
236 How Much Saliva Is Enough for Avoidance of 325 Summaries of Discussions at 50th Anniversary
Xerostomia? ORCA Symposium
Dawes, C. (Winnipeg)

241 Salivary Enhancement Therapies 330 Announcement

Fox, P.C. (Charlotte, N.C.)

247 Salivary Proteins: Protective and Diagnostic Value in 331 Author Index
Cariology? 332 Subject Index
van Nieuw Amerongen, A.; Bolscher, J.G.M.; Veerman, E.C.I.
(Amsterdam)

© 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

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 Caries Res 2004;38:167
DOI: 10.1159/000077750

Introduction

In July 2003, the European Organization of Caries Research (ORCA) cele-

brated its 50th anniversary. This event was marked by a special symposium in
connection with the 50th annual congress, held at ORCA’s birthplace, in
Konstanz, Germany. The title of the symposium was ‘Cariology in the 21st
century – state of the art and future perspectives’.
The current issue of Caries Research is devoted to the proceedings of this
symposium.
The symposium aimed to provide an update on the core issues of cariology
and included aspects of diagnosis, prevention and management of the disease.
In accordance with the objectives of ORCA, a session was specifically devoted
to the problem of how to translate research findings into clinical practice.
The format of the symposium was based on short presentations, in which
each presenter was asked to review the literature within a certain field and to
generate suggestions for future research. Presenters were specifically asked to
address the potential impact of the research on clinical practice.
Each session was followed by a structured discussion around designated
themes. A short summary of the discussions is placed at the end of this issue.
The purpose of publishing this special issue of Caries Research is to make
the knowledge generated at the symposium available to as broad an audience
as possible.
Bente Nyvad, Århus
J.M. (Bob) ten Cate, Amsterdam
Colin Robinson, Leeds
Symposium Organizers and Guest Editors

© 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

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 Caries Res 2004;38:168–172
DOI: 10.1159/000077751

Clinical Manifestations and Treatment

of Caries from 1953 to Global Changes
in the 20th Century
K.G. König
Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry and Pedodontology, University Medical Center St. Radboud,
Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Key Words especially for opening a cavity, and for ‘extension for pre-
Caries manifestations W Caries treatment W Caries risk W vention’ according to the risk of future (secondary) mani-
Caries prevention festations of caries. The less clean a mouth was, the larger
the box of a cavity had to be both buccally and lingually
[Black, 1899; Hofheinz, 1902]. Cavity preparation ac-
Abstract cording to the local microenvironment was one of Black’s
Manifestations and treatment of caries are strongly de- important treatment principles. It illustrates the fact that
pendent on caries risk and the severity of the attacking treatment must be guided not only by the manifestations
factors which determine the degree of caries activity. of caries, but also by the assessment of the individual’s
Caries activity in turn will be modified and can be mini- caries risk. As we well know, this risk depends on the pre-
mized by effective preventive measures. Exemplary ventive agents and services which are available to the
cases and events will be discussed to illustrate what has individual and the extent to which these are used effec-
happened since the establishment of ORCA 50 years tively by the patient.
ago. After World War II, in both West and East, the re-
Copyright © 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel industrialization of a starving Europe and the boom
which followed led to an overconsumption of sweets and
many other types of luxury food. Tito’s Yugoslavia spent
Relation of Caries Manifestations and nearly all its Western hard currencies to buy wheat from
Treatment to Caries Risk and Prevention the West, simply because Tito’s people associated white
bread with progress, and it was necessary to demonstrate
The clinical manifestations of caries and the principles that in a modern socialist country progress was actually
of caries treatment are closely interrelated, and both taking place.
depend on caries risk and caries activity. In particular, sugar consumption in many countries
In 1953, at the University of Würzburg, caries treat- almost reached a level of 1 kg per person per week, and
ment was still being taught according to the principles laid this combined with the lack of good oral hygiene resulted
down by G.V. Black [1914]. Hand instruments were used in a tremendous rise in the incidence of caries. Adequate

© 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel Prof. Dr. K.G. König

ABC 0008–6568/04/0383–0168$21.00/0 Weezenhof 2906
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individual dental care became nearly impossible, not reduce the number of new caries lesions, but there was
least, for instance, in the juvenile populations of Switzer- more: a prominent ORCA member, Dr. Gutherz, a school
land. In its mountainous areas dentitions were so bad that dentist in Basel, had a graph composed which he used
a most welcome wedding gift was not the usual dowry, but widely in the early 1960s when he was fighting for the
payment for the extraction of all teeth, with the subse- introduction of water fluoridation in his Kanton. It
quent provision of full dentures. This radical approach showed that not only was the number of lesions halved by
solved two problems once and for all: firstly, there would fluoride, but that lesions were much smaller. This would
be no recurrent problem of toothache occurring in mid- permit minimally invasive cavity preparation, as opposed
winter in a high mountain valley, and, secondly, the elimi- to the more difficult, if not impossible, larger cavity prep-
nation of a potential financial burden on young husbands, arations needed in the absence of fluoride.
in the form of recurring high dentist’s bills. The same sort In Zürich the school dentists applied – as a treatment
of ‘caries treatment’, that is full clearance, was also prac- principle – the extraction of all four first permanent
ticed and well documented in Scotland between 1967 and molars soon after their eruption; this was done for three
1972.The numbers of teeth sacrificed especially in people reasons:
with no previous denture experience are shocking. In 52% (1) The molars became carious with rapid progression
of the subjects 21 or more teeth were extracted and full which had already begun during eruption, so that when
dentures fitted. Many patients were less than 30 years old the child saw the dentist it was often too late for successful
when a full clearance was performed [Todd and Whit- treatment.
worth, 1974; Marthaler, 2002]. (2) Usually, due to premature loss of deciduous molars,
Obviously in post-war Europe there was not only the before the age of 6 the space for the erupting premolars
problem of individual dental care, but a public health and canines had already been lost.
problem plaguing entire populations from birth to death. (3) Rather than keep the ruins of four heavily filled
That was the desperate state of dental conditions when teeth in a child’s mouth, the first molars were extracted
the ORCA was founded in 1953. While the dental profes- early giving the second and third molars a much better
sions found exodontism unacceptable, the shortage of chance to survive in proper function.
dentists could not be alleviated instantly – so disease pre- It was questionable whether these arguments were val-
vention needed to be practiced on the largest scale possi- id but, that apart, the very fact that systematic extraction
ble. of all first molars was practiced on a large scale as a treat-
ment strategy in Switzerland illustrates how serious the
caries problem was in the 1950s and 60s. So extreme an
Influence of Prevention versus Non-Prevention approach to treatment of caries and its sequelae would
on Caries Manifestations and Treatment otherwise never have been considered.
In the Netherlands (Nijmegen) in 1969 during the
The topic of this paper is the manifestations and treat- baseline examination of approximately 1,000 children
ment of caries, and not prevention and its history over the aged 7 years, it was very obvious that all the dental practi-
past 50 years. It is, nonetheless, essential to direct atten- tioners had adopted the principle not to fill any deciduous
tion to prevention because effective preventive measures teeth and the amalgam fillings in the permanent molars
have clearly influenced manifestations of caries and, sec- were unpolished [Plasschaert and König, 1973]. The ex-
ondarily, treatment principles. The preventive effect of planation was that The Netherlands (like Belgium) had
fluoride on caries had been unequivocally established by the lowest dentist:population ratio in Europe, 1:4,000,
Trendley Dean and his co-pioneers [Dean et al., 1942]. By and the need and unmet demand for dental treatment was
1953, even in Europe there was no doubt that this was the tremendous. As a matter of fact, in the Nijmegen sample
key to preventing caries. of nearly 1,000 children only 3 were found to be caries-
The original name of ORCA chosen in 1953 was ‘Or- free. This may not have been representative, but a health
ganisme Européen de Coordination des Recherches sur le education slide series issued by the ‘Ivory Cross’, also in
Fluor et la Prophylaxie de la Carie Dentaire’ or ‘European 1969, described a situation which was not very much bet-
Association for the Coordination of Research on Fluoride ter than the one in Nijmegen [Van zoet naar zuur, 1969].
and Prevention of Dental Caries’. This was logical both as Especially sad was the fact that exodontism rather than
a name and as a programme. North American investiga- repair resulted in too many young adults being edentu-
tors had shown that fluoride (in drinking waters) would lous.

Manifestions, Treatment and Prevention of Caries Res 2004;38:168–172 169

Caries
 Water Fluoridation Effects versus Caries the community health authorities, and academic dentis-
Decline in Non-Fluoridated Areas try. By 1969 all five dental schools in the Netherlands had
a chair in this discipline. Moreover, individual communi-
In the Netherlands public health dentists under the ties had started large-scale health education campaigns,
leadership of ORCA Honorary Member Otto Backer covering not only the importance of healthy nutrition, but
Dirks had been fighting for water fluoridation since also stressing the great importance of oral hygiene. At the
1953. same time, hygiene in general became socially desirable.
In 1953 fluoridation of drinking water was started in Since the mid-1980s most children have had very little
the city of Tiel on an experimental basis; in 1970 the grad- or no plaque and are using a fluoride-containing tooth-
ual increase in the number of fluoridated areas resulted in paste. The analysis of the Delphi investigation into the
nearly half the population of the Netherlands receiving reasons for the decline in caries by Bratthall et al. [1996]
fluoridated water. However, due to the untiring efforts of showed that an overwhelming majority, 96% of the 55
antifluoridationists, fluoridation stopped in the whole experts, thought that the use of fluoride toothpastes was
country after a supreme court decision in 1973 [Kalsbeek ‘very important’ or ‘important’. Regarding sugar con-
and Verrips, 1990]. This generated great concern amongst sumption, 87% of the experts thought this was of little or
the dental professionals because everybody was afraid no importance.
that the deplorable situation of dental ill health experi-
enced in the 1950s and 60s would recur. But this miracu-
lously did not happen; on the contrary, the changes in the Sugar Intake as a Caries Risk Factor
average DMFT of 12-year-old children over the whole
country show that the decrease of caries prevalence had Sreebny in 1982 had published an analysis of the sugar-
only just started when water fluoridation ceased in 1973; caries relationship. He had based the analysis on the car-
the average DMFT of 8 at that time in 12-year-old chil- ies data in deciduous dentitions from 23 countries and on
dren consistently decreased to a DMFT of 1 by the mid data in permanent dentitions from 47 countries. He
1990s [Truin et al., 1994, 1998; Marthaler, 2003]. found that every 20-gram increase in the sugar consumed
The most plausible reason for this success is that dental more per person per day (or 7.3 kg per year) resulted in 0.5
health educators and enlightened mothers and fathers dmft increase in 5- to 6-year-old children, and 1 DMFT
were alarmed when they realized that after water fluorida- increase in 12-year-olds. Soon after it had been published
tion stopped good dental health could no longer be this observation was proved not to be valid.
obtained out of their water taps but needed their individu- There were some countries where between 1982 and
al effort. It was therefore obvious that everybody had to 1985 the sugar consumption had increased, but where,
become active and apply preventive measures on an indi- nevertheless, regular epidemiological monitoring of caries
vidual basis. The results of this in the Netherlands were data had shown that the caries prevalence in children con-
quite unexpected. Although health educators had persis- tinued to decrease: these were Sweden [Birkhed et al.,
tently and clearly said ‘eat less sugar’, this did not happen. 1989], Norway [Rølla and Øgaard, 1987], and New Zea-
Sugar consumption did not decrease substantially: being land [König, 1990].
38.5 kg per person per year in 1985, and the same quanti- Shortly after the publication by Walker and Cleaton-
ty in 1992, it was still more than 90% of what it had been Jones [1989], Marthaler [1990] published his analysis of
in 1965. Therefore the improvement in dental health the secular trends in caries prevalence and came to the
could not be attributed to improvement in our eating hab- confirmatory conclusion that in many highly developed
its. It also could not be attributed to administration of industrialized countries there was a ‘lack of correlation
fluoride supplements, because the sales of fluoride tablets between the decline of caries prevalence and average sug-
had always been low and were decreasing continuously. ar consumption’.
Topical application of fluoride gels and growing populari- This is a comforting statement. However, there are still
ty of sugarless chewing gum may have contributed, but high-risk populations who demand our attention. These
the most important reason for the improvement was a are found in developing countries, or in subpopulations
rapid spread of good oral hygiene habits and the use of (mostly ethnic minority groups) in the highly developed
fluoride toothpastes. What certainly played a role in this ‘low-caries countries’, such as the refugees from former
success story was the fact that from the early 1950s pre- Yugoslavia in Switzerland [Menghini et al., 2003]. These
ventive dentistry was embraced by dental professionals, at-risk subpopulations should be the target of appropriate,

170 Caries Res 2004;38:168–172 König

effective prevention and treatment strategies. A specific time became available for the aesthetic aspects of treat-
analysis of risk factor(s) per risk group is necessary, and a ment, tooth-coloured adhesive materials being applied in
specific package of preventive measures should be com- anterior and even in posterior teeth.
posed to limit the manifestations of caries and reduce Some older and somewhat reactionary dentists ad-
treatment need. hered mentally to the previous desolate scene of rampant
caries, and rapid progression of small caries lesions. They
tended to overestimate the caries risk and did not trust
Root Caries and the Secular Change of Caries modern recommendations to wait and give remineraliza-
Prevalence in the 1980s tion a chance. They practiced overtreatment, excavating
and filling small lesions instead of sealing fissures or
The urgent problems caused by the high incidence and applying remineralizing agents to sites of incipient at-
rapid progression of caries in young people made us tack.
neglect a typical problem inflicting the elderly with gingi- The reference in the title to ‘global changes’ should not
val recession, root caries. In the 3 decades between 1954 be taken literally. The situation worldwide was and re-
and 1983 only 14 studies on root caries were carried out mains today extremely variable and changes are occurring
[Wagg, 1984]. One of them was the first representative in different directions. In industrialized countries, there
population study on root caries by the Finnish group of has been great improvement, but in some developing
Vehkalati et al. [1983], the results of which they started to countries deterioration has been observed. There are oth-
publish in 1983. It showed that the prevalence was less in er instances where the manifestations of caries are pretty
women than in men (1.19 vs. 2.23% of teeth affected). At stable. However, some countries, in particular on the Afri-
that time the authors already assumed that the prevalence can Continent, are developing very slowly and due to lack
of root caries differed widely in populations of different of financial resources cannot provide modern dental ser-
ethnic, cultural and socio-economic background. Wheth- vices; in these cases the method of atraumatic restorative
er this manifestation of caries fully deserves the increased treatment (ART) is an adequate alternative [Frencken
attention it received in the late 1980s, or whether the and Holmgren, 1999; Massara et al., 2002]. The filling
problem of root caries has, in the meantime, been re- materials are modern glass-ionomers, and the preparation
placed by the problem of toothbrush abrasion of the is minimally invasive, but the preceding excavation is car-
exposed roots will depend on one’s perspective. However, ried out with hand instruments, and so – again – we return
root caries is another interesting example on how the to G.V. Black.
manifestations of caries and its treatment can be drasti- It is obvious that this atavistic treatment method was
cally modified by preventive measures; Nyvad and Fe- born out of the necessity to help patients in poor develop-
jerskov [1986] persuaded patients with root caries to prac- ing countries, while progress with new, advanced tech-
tice meticulous toothbrushing with a toothpaste contain- niques is available in the highly industrialized rich coun-
ing 1,000 ppm F. Within 2–6 months the lesions changed tries. The conclusion therefore must be that the highest
from a clinically active stage into inactive stages of caries. priority should not be the development of even more
Subsequently, this success which tended to make tradi- advanced treatment techniques, but the global fight
tional drilling and filling superfluous, has been repeated against poverty which threatens the health of large parts
using various modes of fluoride applications [Lynch and of the world population.
Baysan, 2001].

Caries Manifestations, Treatment,

Overtreatment and Undertreatment

Some manifestations of caries which accompanied the

generally improved dental health in highly developed
countries are very characteristic: smooth surface caries
has become very rare; approximal caries declined drasti-
cally, and fissures were sealed or treated by minimally
invasive methods without extension for prevention. More

Manifestions, Treatment and Prevention of Caries Res 2004;38:168–172 171

Caries
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diet? Caries Res 1990;24(suppl 1):16–18. in Norway from 1970 to 1984 and some con-
Lynch E, Baysan A: Reversal of primary root caries siderations concerning the reasons for this phe-
using a dentifrice with a high fluoride content. nomenon; in Frank RM, O’Hickey S (eds):
Caries Res 2001;35(suppl 1):60–64. Strategy for Dental Caries Prevention in Euro-
pean Countries According to Their Laws and
Regulations. Oxford, Information Retrieval,
1987, pp 223–229.

172 Caries Res 2004;38:168–172 König

 Caries Res 2004;38:173–181
DOI: 10.1159/000077752

Changes in Dental Caries 1953–2003

T.M. Marthaler
Center for Dentistry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Key Words Early Phases and Progress in Sampling Theory

Dental caries W Caries epidemiology W Time trends
It was around 1900 that the first statistics on dental
decay were published, which was approximately the time
Abstract when the first university dental institutes were training
In the first half of the 20th century, indices and methods students in dentistry. The number of these early statistics
of conducting surveys of the level of dental diseases was very low and they are difficult to interpret. Half a
were developed. Modern epidemiological studies began century later, a special commission of the International
in the fifties and many reliable studies have been con- Dental Association prepared a survey covering the period
ducted after 1960. In the following decades, a substantial 1950–1963, which showed that numerous epidemiologi-
decline of caries prevalence was documented in the cal studies were carried out at that time. From the 14 most
majority of the highly industrialized countries, with re- active countries in Europe, a total of 420 publications
ductions of lifetime caries experience exceeding 75%. were compiled [FDI, 1964]. Increasingly, DMFT counts
The decline comes to an end when low or very low levels were used. There were two main purposes: (1) purely epi-
of prevalence are reached. Children of low socioeconom- demiological, i.e. to assess the dental status, and (2) iden-
ic status and immigrants from outside Western Europe, tification of the caries-inhibiting effect of fluoride in the
however, generally have higher disease levels and may drinking water with levels either below 0.3 or above
cause increases in caries prevalence. For this and other 0.8 ppm.
reasons, caries epidemiology will remain an indispens- Up to the sixties, the tendency was to draw samples in
able part of dental public health. towns or cities close to dental schools or in areas where
Copyright © 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel special circumstances were expected. Usually it was not
specified how the samples were drawn; nowadays they
would be regarded as ‘convenience’ samples. In fact,
papers on concepts and theory of random sampling began
to appear in the 1930s only in specialized statistical jour-
nals. It was only in 1949 that the first textbook on this new
topic appeared [Yates, 1949]. Its focus was on agricultural
research in England. The second textbook, by Cochran

© 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel Prof. Dr. Thomas M. Marthaler

ABC 0008–6568/04/0383–0173$21.00/0 Bellerivestrasse 21
Fax + 41 61 306 12 34 CH–8008 Zürich (Switzerland)
E-Mail [email protected] Accessible online at: Tel. +41 44 381 75 40, Fax +41 44 381 75 43
www.karger.com www.karger.com/cre E-Mail [email protected]
Table 1. Percentages of children examined from the total of the chil- The surveys repeated every 4 years in the Canton of
dren selected at random in each of the 16 communities Zurich were carried out within the school dental services.
The services have for decades included one mandatory
No examination Exam yes, but Total non-
of teeth at all no radiographs response clinical examination of every schoolchild per year, and
the examinations for statistical/epidemiological purposes
1964 0 !1 !1 were declared as part of the school dental service (specifi-
1968 0 !1 !1 cally serving quality control of treatments and pre-
1972 0 !1 !1 vention). Up to 1976, rejection rates were below 2%, but
1976 0 !2 !2
as shown in table 1, rejection rates increased after a new
New law on protection from radiation law on radiation protection and even more so after the
1980 !2 no records no records
accident in the Chernobyl atomic reactor. The highest
1984 !3 14 !17
rejection rate was 40% in 1992. As of 2000, the overall
Accident at the Chernobyl atomic reactor in 1986 rejection rate was down to 28%, with 19% rejecting exclu-
1988 6* 32 36
1992 8* 35 40
sively the radiographic examination. In very recent times,
some adolescents just object to sit down on the examina-
Radiation exposure reduced from 0.34 to 0.12 s
tion chair, with teacher and parents often commenting
1996 10* 25 32
2000 11* 19 28 that ‘this is their personal freedom’. In such situations,
attempts to obtain random samples may in fact be futile
* Based on detailed records obtained in 1988; approximately one due to the fact that often more than half of the selected
third were in fact outright rejections, others not examined were sick subjects cannot be examined. In a recent study in the
at the examination day(s), wore extensive orthodontic appliances or USA, parents had at first to be asked whether they were
had moved. The percentages of children not examined because of
rejection were accordingly 4–6 % points lower than the figures pre-
interested in a survey including the examination of the
sented for 1988 through 2000. teeth and an assessment of urinary fluoride excretion.
Those who did hand in the signed one-page document
were then given a two-page detailed information sheet in
which at the end they were asked to sign a text like ‘with
my signature I decide that my child is allowed to take part
[1953], was relatively easy to understand and was widely in...’.
used.
The earliest caries studies based on random sampling
were those carried out in the USA: 1960–62 in adults, The Early Years of the Decline in Western
1963–65 in children and 1966–70 in 12- to 17-year-old Europe
youths [National Center for Health Statistics, 1967, 1971,
1974]. Similar studies based on random selection proce- The surveys published up to the sixties suggested that
dures were conducted in 1968 with adults in England and dental caries prevalence was high in children of Western
Wales [Gray et al., 1970] and in 1973 with children European countries. Children 12 years of age often had on
[Todd, 1975]. It took another 20 years until other highly average more than 5 DMFT, and at the age of 15 the
industrialized countries had carried out comparable sur- DMFT averages were often above 10. In the countries
veys. This was in part due to three circumstances: with comprehensive school dental services, high caries
(1) The theory and practice of drawing samples were prevalence was of course known from the excessive bur-
relatively new. den of restorative treatment and the frequent destruction
(2) In general, it was – and may be even today – diffi- of teeth beyond repair.
cult to obtain true random samples, i. e. samples in which This deplorable situation was often the starting point
each individual of a nation or a province etc. envisaged for the search for preventive measures. The discovery of
has the same probability of being included in the sample. the cariostatic effects of fluoride rapidly inspired many
(3) Once the sample has been selected at random from activities in both research and practical dentistry. A con-
available lists, each individual chosen should be exam- siderable number of projects were begun around 1960.
ined. In the last decades, this prerequisite has become Local uses of fluorides were preferred in the Scandinavian
increasingly difficult to fulfill as illustrated in the follow- studies while in other Western European countries the
ing paragraph. majority of projects attempted to assess the caries-pre-

174 Caries Res 2004;38:173–181 Marthaler

ventive potential of daily tablet intake. Many of these pro- in many industrialized countries. The greatly improved
jects were done by school dental services in cooperation dental health up to 1993 was further documented at the
with dental schools, which provided professional advice ‘Second International Conference of Declining Caries’,
and often carried out the examination of the children’s held in London in April 1994 [Naylor, 1994].
teeth and the statistical evaluations. The decline took various courses in Western Europe.
Many of the early Scandinavian reports of a caries This may be exemplified by using data from the Nether-
decline were cited by von der Fehr [1994] and von der lands and Switzerland. The decrease in the Netherlands,
Fehr and Haugejorden [1997]. The latter paper showed as studied in 12-year-old children, was summarized in a
that in 5 of the 14 Norwegian counties, the decline began very simple manner: ‘The average DMFT decreased
around 1967. The authors concluded that in Norway the steadily from 8 in 1965 to one in 1993’ [König, 2002].
decline started when fluoride brushing or rinsing pro- Figure 1 illustrates that in fact the decrease tended to be
grams were introduced. Widespread use of fluoride tooth- linear (the customary regression line was not calculated as
pastes could become a factor at the earliest in 1971/72, the beginning and the end of the decline cannot be deter-
that is 4 years later. mined; in addition, the data came from different towns
According to a Danish report typical of that period, a and cities and were based on variable numbers [Truin et
reduction of caries increments of slightly above 50% was al., 1994]; the line drawn is sufficient for the illustration
obtained from 1962 to 1966 through a comprehensive intended here). A decrease of 7 DMFT in 28 years is
school-based program comprising multiple topical fluo- equivalent to a decrease of 0.25 DMFT per year.
rides [Kann, 1968]. In Switzerland, decline of caries The decrease of the DMFT averages in the Canton of
became obvious in the early sixties [Wegelin, 1964; Mar- Zurich took a different course. As is evident from figure 2,
thaler and König, 1967; Marthaler, 1969]. Rieder [1967] the reduction was most rapid in the mid-sixties but
reported a rapidly decreasing number of fillings necessary became gradually smaller in numerical terms. According-
in the school dental service. In the Canton of Zurich, the ly, the logarithms of the DMFT averages closely followed
onset of a caries decline was documented already for the a straight line for all of the four age groups studied (8-, 10-,
period 1964–1968 [Marthaler, 1972]. Early reports on a 12- and 14-year-olds) [Marthaler et al., 1994]. The course
decline appeared also in Germany [e.g. Sigrist and Mar- of the decline of the DMFT averages was obviously differ-
thaler, 1975] and Austria, but there were no conferences ent from the one in the Netherlands.
or review papers summarizing them. Most of the European data on the decline up to 1993
were presented at the ‘Second International Conference
on Declining Caries’ [Naylor, 1994]. At the ORCA Sym-
The Declines of Caries Prevalence in Selected posium of 1995, the decline of the DMFT in several West-
Western European Countries ern European countries was found to be still continuing
until 1994 [Marthaler et al., 1996]. In the case of Eastern
On the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of ORCA in Germany, a large dataset was available over a period of up
1978, this organization published a supplement to Caries to 30 years. The data available until 1995, extensively
Research with the title Progress in Caries Prevention reviewed by Künzel [1997], documented that a decline
[Ericsson, 1978]. In the preface, Yngve Ericsson ventured occurred between 1985 and 1995, obviously connected
to state that ‘In no other period of history, outside the with the ‘Westernization’ of former Eastern Germany (the
times of enforced rationing and shortages in war and fam- former German Democratic Republic). The earlier statis-
ine, have these countries enjoyed so great an improve- tics, dating back to 1959, showed that the fluoride level in
ment of dental health’; these countries were those ‘where the drinking water had been the main determinant of den-
preventive methods have been systematically imple- tal caries prevalence.
mented on a large scale’ [Ericsson, 1978]. In 1985, a Com- In recent years, an increasing number of papers has
mission of the FDI compiled data demonstrating a caries shown that caries prevalence was highest in the lower
decline in 9 countries [Renson et al., 1985]. Four of them socioeconomic strata. Bratthall’s [2000] significant caries
were the Northern European countries Denmark, Fin- index (SiC) is a reliable tool for focusing on children with
land, Norway and Sweden. The remaining 5 were Austra- high caries experience. The SiC is the average DMFT in
lia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom the one third of children with the highest caries experi-
and the USA. After publication of this report, it became ence; accordingly, the SiC does not depend on assess-
widely acknowledged that a secular decline was going on ments of socioeconomic status (SES), the definition of

Changes in Dental Caries 1953–2003 Caries Res 2004;38:173–181 175

Fig. 1. Average DMFT of 12-year-old chil-
dren in various towns and cities of the Neth-
erlands [data points from Truin, 1997]. The
line symbolizes the steady fall of the aver-
ages, equal to approximately 0.25 less
DMFT per year from 1965 (8 DMFT) to
1993 (1 DMFT).

which varies from one country to another. In the Swiss

Canton of Zurich, the average DMFT of all 12-year-old
children examined in 1964 was 7.9 while their SiC was
13.1. In 1996, presumably the end of the period of decline
regarding the age group 12, the averages were 0.84 and
2.38, respectively [unpublished data drawn from the ex-
isting datasets of the Canton of Zurich, which is the data-
base for the paper by Menghini et al., 2003b]. The reduc-
tion of the SiC by 82%, from 13.1 to 2.38, was a dramatic
improvement for the one third of children with the high-
est caries risk. The children of the lowest tercile had an
average DMFT = 0, since 62% of the examined children
were caries-free.

Reasons for the Decline

Different or sometimes widely diverging opinions exist

regarding the reasons of the decline. An inquiry including
52 selected experts, carried out in the mid-nineties, re-
vealed that the daily use of fluoridated toothpastes, pref-
erably twice a day, was considered to be the most impor-
tant single factor by most experts [Bratthall et al., 1996].
In controlled randomized studies comparing dentifrices
with and without fluoride, the reductions ascribable to
fluoride were often between 20 and 40% and rarely
exceeded 50%. If we assume that 6.0 DMFT were the Fig. 2. Average DMFT in children (permanent residents) in 16 com-
approximate DMFT in 12-year-old children prior to the munities of the Canton of Zurich in which surveys were conducted
decline, fluoride in dentifrices would have lowered the every 4 years since 1964.

176 Caries Res 2004;38:173–181 Marthaler

DMFT to 3.0. In several countries, however, the DMFT Table 2. Average dmfs and DMFS counts in the Hague: Dutch
averages have fallen to 1.0 or even below. What are the children with high or low SES and immigrants from Turkey and
Morocco
reasons for the reduction from 3 to 1.0 DMFT, equivalent
to 67%? In part, it may be due to improved toothbrushing Dutch nationals Turkey Morocco
habits: more frequent and more thorough toothbrushing
high SES low SES
would strengthen the fluoride effect, lower the ‘aggressivi-
ty’ of dental plaque and remove fermentable food rem- Age 6, dmfs
nants more thoroughly. However, other important factors 1996 0.8 4.7 5.3 5.1
are likely to be involved in the dramatic decline of dental 1998 0.5 4.3 6.8 4.1
caries prevalence at school age. Unfortunately, analytical 2002 0.7 4.1 7.4 4.0
epidemiological studies often do not provide useful or Age 12, DMFS
reliable data to support or disprove specific hypotheses. 1996 0.3 1.6 3.4 2.8
Therefore, the role of other favorable factors is still a mat- 1998 0.1 2.0 2.1 1.5
2002 0.4 0.6 1.0 0.9
ter of discussion [Bratthall et al., 1996].
Among the factors considered unimportant by Brat- From Truin et al. [unpublished data].
thall et al. [1996], placement of sealants needs to be
reconsidered. In case of DMFT averages above 3, there
will be much caries apart from fissures and pits and the
role of sealants will be limited (except perhaps in pro-
jects in which they were applied on all fissures and pits This corresponds to reductions of 76–80% from 1964 to
of first molars). There is also the irrefutable fact that the ‘stable’ period of 1988–2000.
declines above 70% were obtained in several Western Recent caries statistics from children having high and
European countries before fissure sealants were com- low SES in The Hague are presented in table 2. In the
monly used, that is before 1985–1990. However, in the high-SES children aged 6, the average dmfs varied be-
countries in which DMFT averages are now below 2.0, tween 0.5 and 0.8 from 1996 to 2002. By contrast, in the
most of the caries occurs in fissures and pits of the first low-SES children, the average dmfs remained at 4.7
molars until the age of 12 years. Consequently, there are (1996) and 4.1 (2002), thus showing little if any improve-
reasons to assume that sealants can be a very important, ment in the 6 years. Children immigrated from Turkey
or even the main factor in lowering the DMFT from say and Morocco also had on average between 4.0 and 7.4
1.5 to 1.0. dmfs in the 6-year period.
Finally, there is agreement that the various and contin- At the age of 12 years, the average DMFS in the Dutch
ued uses of fluorides, often applied in combination, are by high-SES children was very low, between 0.1 and 0.4
far the most important factors of the decline. Some confu- DMFS. In the low-SES children, 1.6 and 2.0 DMFS were
sion has arisen from the fact that in a few specific situa- counted in 1996 and 1998, respectively, but the latest
tions, water fluoridated to around 1 ppm has lost part of average, of 2002, was as low as 0.6 DMFS. In the Turkish
its effectiveness of reducing DMFT experience by 50– and Moroccan children, the averages were still at 3.4 and
60%, as documented up to 1980. In modern societies 2.8 in 1996, but had fallen to 1.0 and 0.9, respectively, by
using fluorides in toothpastes and other topical applica- 2002.
tions, water fluoridation cannot be clearly demonstrated. There is no doubt that numbers of legal as well as ille-
gal immigrants will increase in the near future. For proper
interpretation of epidemiological data, both the immigra-
Observations regarding the End of the Decline tion status, country of origin as well as the length of stay in
the guest country need to be recorded and reported.
Regarding the primary dentition, Downer [1994] as- These data illustrate that once the average dmf or
sumed that the decline ended in England and Wales in DMF counts are low or very low, there will be instability
1983. Likewise, in Swiss children of the Canton of Zurich, or oscillation. In the high-SES Dutch children (the aver-
an end of the decline in the primary teeth became evident ages of whom are presented in table 2), 79–93% had dmfs
in 1988 [Steiner et al., 1991]. In the first survey of 1964, or DMFS equal to zero. Accordingly, the few children
the average dmft was 7.6. In 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000, with counts of 2 or higher can make the averages unstable.
Swiss children had dmft averages between 1.5 and 1.8. Another factor may even be more important: fillings

Changes in Dental Caries 1953–2003 Caries Res 2004;38:173–181 177

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Title: A Righted Wrong: A Novel. Volume 2 (of 3)

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A RIGHTED

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Transcriber's Note:
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A RIGHTED WRONG.

A RIGHTED WRONG.

A Novel.
 BY

EDMUND YATES,

AUTHOR OF
"BLACK SHEEP," "THE FORLORN HOPE," "BROKEN TO HARNESS," ETC.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

LONDON:
TINSLEY BROTHERS, 18 CATHERINE ST., STRAND.
1870.

[All rights reserved.]

 LONDON:
ROBSON AND SONS, PRINTERS, PANCRAS ROAD, N.W.

CONTENTS OF VOL. II.

CHAP.
I. Day.
II. Full Compensation.
III. Three Letters.
IV. Hayes Meredith's Revelation.
V. Consultation.
VI. The Return.
VII. The Marriage.
VIII. Shadows.
IX. Family Affairs.
X. Margaret's Presentiment.
XI. After a Year.
 A RIGHTED WRONG.

CHAPTER I.

DAY.

It will probably be entirely unnecessary to inform the intelligent

reader what was the nature of the contents of the letter which
James Dugdale had handed to Mrs. Hungerford. Retrospect, present
knowledge, or anticipation will convey a sufficiently accurate
perception of it to all the readers of this story.

The writing of that letter was the result of a long and entirely
unreserved conversation which had taken place between Lady
Davyntry and her brother, after the last-recorded interview between
the former and Margaret.

So entirely confident was Eleanor of Mr. Baldwin's feelings and

intentions, that she no longer hesitated to speak to him on the
matter nearest her heart from any apprehension of defeating her
own purpose by precipitation.

In the doubts and fears, in the passionate and painful burst of

reminiscence which had given her added insight into Margaret's
nature. Lady Davyntry had seen, far more plainly than Margaret,--or
at least than ever she had confessed to herself,--that a new love, a
fresh hope, had come to her. The very strife of feeling which she
confessed and described betrayed her to the older woman, whose
wisdom, though rather of the heart than of the understanding, was
true in this case.

"It will never do to let her brood over this sort of thing," said Lady
Davyntry to herself with decision. "The more time she has to think
over it, the more danger there is of her working herself up into a
morbid state of mind, persuading herself that she ought to sacrifice
her own happiness, and make Fitz wretched, because she had the
misfortune to be married to a villain, and associated, through him,
with some very bad people--the more she will tax her memory and
torture her feelings, by trying to recall and realise all the past. I can
see that nature and her youth are helping her to forget it all, and
would do so, no doubt, if Fitz never existed; but she is trying to
resist the influence of nature, and to train herself to a state of mind
which is simply ruinous and absurd."

So Lady Davyntry spoke to her brother that evening, and had the
satisfaction of finding that she had acted wisely in so doing. '"Don't
speak to her, Fitz," she said, towards the conclusion of their
conversation; "don't give her the chance of being impelled by such
feelings as she has acknowledged to me, to say no,--let her have
time to think about it."

It was a position in which few men would have failed to look silly,
that of talking over a love affair, in the ante-proposal stage, with a
sister. But Mr. Baldwin was one of those men who never can be
made to look silly, who have about them an inborn dignity and entire
singleness of purpose which are effectual preservatives against the
faintest touch of the ridiculous in their words or actions.

He had spoken frankly of his hopes, and of his grounds for

entertaining them, but the account his sister gave of Margaret's
state of mind troubled him sorely. Here Lady Davyntry again proved
her possession of sounder sense than many who knew her only
slightly would have believed she possessed.

"It won't last," she assured her brother; "it is a false, phantasmal
state of feeling, and though it might grow more and more strong if
nothing were opposed to it, it will disappear before a true and
powerful feeling--rely upon it she will wonder at herself some day,
and be hardly able to realise that she ever gave way to this sort of
thing."

Mr. Baldwin wrote the letter, the answer to which was to mean so
much to him; and Lady Davyntry enclosed it in a cover directed by
herself.

"I don't think my darling Margaret can have much doubt about
how I should regard this affair," she said, as she sealed the envelope
with such a lavish use of sealing wax in the enthusiasm of the
moment, that it swelled up all round the seal like liliputian pie-crust;
"but whatever she may have teased herself with fancying, she will
know it is all right when she sees that I enclose your letter. Some
women might take it into their heads to be annoyed because you
had spoken to another person of your feelings; but Margaret is too
high-minded for anything of that sort, and, rely upon it, she will be
none the less happy, if she promises to become your wife, that she
will make me as happy in proportion as yourself by the promise."

At this stage, the impulsive Eleanor gave vent to her emotion by

hugging her brother heartily, and accompanying the embrace with a
shower of tears.

Margaret remained where James Dugdale had left her standing

with Mr. Baldwin's letter in her hand. She did not break the seal, she
did not move, for several minutes,--then she picked up Lady
Davyntry's envelope, which had fluttered to the ground, and went
into the house.
 Any one not so innocently absentminded as Mr. Carteret, or so
cheerfully full of harmless self-content of youth, health, and
unaccustomed leisure as Haldane Carteret, could hardly have failed
to notice that there was something strange in the looks and manner
of two of the little party who sat down that day to the dinner table
at Chayleigh, shorn of much of its formality since Mrs. Carteret had
ceased to preside over it.

Margaret was paler than usual, but not with the pallor of ill-health-
-the clear skin had no sallowness in its tint.

To one accustomed to read the countenance which had acquired

of late so much new expression, and such a softening of the old one,
the indication of strong emotion would have been plain, in the pale
cheek, the lustrous, downcast eye, the occasional trembling of the
small lips, the absent, preoccupied gaze, the sudden recall of her
attention to the present scene, the forced smile when her father
spoke to her, and the unusual absence of interest and pleasure in
Haldane's jokes, which were sometimes good, but always numerous.

James Dugdale sat at the table, quite silent, and did not even
make any attempt to eat. Margaret, with the superior powers of
hypocrisy observable in the female, affected, unnecessarily, to have
a very good appetite. The meal was a painful probation for them.

It was so far from unusual for James to be ill and depressed, that
when Haldane had commented upon his silence and his want of
appetite in his usual off-hand fashion, and Mr. Carteret had lamented
those misfortunes, and digressed into speculation whether James
had not better have his dinner just before going to bed, because
wild beasts gorge themselves with food, and go to sleep immediately
afterwards,--no further notice was taken.

It never occurred to Mr. Carteret or to Haldane that anything

except illness could ail James. Neither did it occur to one or the
other to notice that Margaret, usually so observant of James, so kind
in her attention to him, so sympathetic, who understood his "good
days" and his "bad days" so well, did not make the slightest remark
herself, and suffered theirs to pass without comment.

She never once addressed James during dinner, nor did her glance
encounter his. Why?

It had been Margaret's custom of late to sit with her father in his
study during the evening. Mr. Carteret and she would adjourn thither
immediately after dinner, and James and Haldane usually joined
them after a while.

Margaret did not depart from her usual practice on this particular
evening, but she was not inclined to talk to her father. She settled
him into his particular chair, in his inevitable corner, and began to
read aloud to him, with more than her usual promptness.

But somehow the reading was not successful, her voice was husky
and uncertain, and her inattention so obvious that it soon became
infectious, and Mr. Carteret found the effort of listening beyond him.
An unusually prolonged and unmistakable yawn, for which he
hastened to apologise, made the fact evident to Margaret.

"I think we are both disinclined for reading to-night, papa," she
said as she laid aside her book, and took a low seat by her father's
side. "We will talk now for a while."

"Very well, my dear," said the acquiescent Mr. Carteret. But

Margaret did not seem inclined to follow up her own proposition
actively. She sat still, dreamily silent, and her fingers played idly with
the fringe which bordered the chintz cover of her father's chair. At
length she said:

"Papa, what do you think of Mr. Baldwin?"

"What do I think of Mr. Baldwin, my dear?" repeated Mr. Carteret

slowly. "I think very highly of him indeed: a most accomplished
young man I consider him, and excessively obliging, I'm sure. I don't
flatter myself, you know, Margaret, with any notion that I am a
particularly delightful companion for any one; indeed, since our
great loss, I am best alone I think, or with you--with you, my dear,"
and her father patted Margaret's head just as he had been used to
pat it when she was a little child; "and still, he seems to like being
with me, and takes the greatest interest in my collection. Excessively
liberal he is, too, and I can assure you very few collectors, however
rich they may be, are that. He has shared his magnificent specimens
of lepidoptera with me, and I have not another friend in the world
who would do that. Think of him?" said Mr. Carteret again, returning
to Margaret's question. "I think most highly of him. But why do you
ask me? Don't you think well of him yourself?"

Margaret looked up hastily, dropped her eyes again, and said:

"O yes, papa; I--I do, indeed; but I wanted to ask you, because---
-" A quick tapping at the window interrupted her. Haldane stood
outside, and his sister left her seat and went to him.

"Come out for a walk, Madge," he said. "James is queer this

evening, and says he will just give the governor half-an-hour, and
then go to bed. You don't want them both, do you, sir?" Haldane
asked the question with his head inside, and his body outside the
window. "I thought not. Here's James now." At that moment Mr.
Dugdale entered the room. "Come on; you can get your bonnet and
shawl; the door is open."

Margaret had not turned her face from the window, and she now
stepped out into the verandah. She had not seen the expression on
James Dugdale's face. Instinct caused her to avoid him. She had not
yet faced the subject in her own mind, she had not yet reckoned
with herself about it.

"Has she written to him? Is he coming here? How is it?"

 These were the questions which repeated themselves in James's
brain, as he tried to talk to Mr. Carteret, and tried not to follow the
footsteps of the woman whose way was daily deviating more and
more widely from his.

The brother and sister walked down the terrace, and into the
pleasaunce together.

Haldane had been exposed to the fascinations of the eldest Miss

Crofton for the last ten days or so, and, being rather defenceless
under such circumstances, though not, as he said of himself, "lady's
man," he was very likely to capitulate, unless some providential
occurrence furnished him with a change of occupation, and thus
diverted his mind.

At present the eldest Miss Crofton--her papa, her mamma, her

little brother, a wonderfully clever child, and particularly fond of
being "taken round the lawn" on Haldane's horse, with only Haldane
on one side and his sister on the other to hold him on--her
housekeeping science, and her equestrian feats, afforded Haldane
topics of conversation of which Margaret showed no weariness. Her
attention certainly did wander a little, but Haldane did not perceive
it.

They had passed through the gate into the fields which bordered
on Davyntry, and Haldane had just pleaded for a little more time out,
the evening was so beautiful--adding his conviction that every
woman in the world was greedy about her tea, and that Margaret
would not be half so pale if she drank less of that pernicious
decoction--when she started so violently that he could not fail to
perceive it.

"What's the matter? he asked, in surprise.

"Nothing," said Margaret. "There's--there's some one coming."

 "So there is," said Haldane, looking at a figure advancing quickly
towards them from the direction of Davyntry; "and it is Baldwin."

The blood rushed violently into Margaret's cheeks, her feet were
rooted to the ground for a moment, as she felt the whole scene
around her grow indistinct; the next, she was meeting Mr. Baldwin
with composure which far surpassed his own, and in the first glance
of her candid eyes, which looked up at him shyly, but entirely with
their owner's will, he read the answer to his letter.

"If you will take Margaret home to this important and ever-
recurring tea, Baldwin," said Haldane Carteret, "I will go on a little
farther, and smoke my cigar."

He went away from them quickly, and saying to himself, "It is to

be, I think."

CHAPTER II.

FULL COMPENSATION.

It did not fall to Margaret Hungerford's lot to resume the topic of

her interrupted conversation with her father. Mr. Baldwin took that
upon himself, and so sped in his mission, that the old gentleman
declared himself happier than he had ever been in his life before;
and then, suddenly and remorsefully reminiscent of his late domestic
affliction, he added, "If only poor Sibylla were here with us to share
all this good fortune!" An aspiration which Mr. Baldwin could have
found it in his heart to echo, so full was that heart of joy.
 In the love of this man for Margaret there was so much of
generous kindness, such an intense desire to fill her life with a full
and compensating happiness, to efface the past utterly, and give her
in the present all that the heart of the most exacting woman could
covet, that he regarded his success with more than the natural and
customary exultation of a lover to whom "yes" has been said or
rather implied. That Margaret realised, or indeed understood, even
in its broad outlines, the alteration in the external circumstances of
her life which her becoming his wife would effect, he did not
imagine; and he exulted to an extent which he would hitherto have
believed impossible in the knowledge that he could give her wealth
and position only inferior to his love.

Beyond a vague understanding that Mr. Baldwin was a very rich

man for a commoner, and that, as the property was entailed on heirs
general, Lady Davyntry would have it in the event of his dying
childless, Mr. Carteret had no clear notions about the position in
which his daughter's second marriage would place her, and Mr.
Baldwin's explanations rather puzzled and confounded the worthy
gentleman. He had shrunk as much as possible from realising to
himself the circumstances of Margaret's life in Australia, the
disastrous experiences of her first marriage, and he now showed his
dread of them chiefly by the complacency, the delight with which he
dwelt upon the happiness which he anticipated for her in the society
of Mr. Baldwin, so accomplished a man, so perfect a gentleman, and
withal such a lover of natural history. He was not disposed to take
other matters deeply into consideration, and it was chiefly Haldane
with whom the preliminaries of the marriage, which was to take
place soon, and with as little stir or parade as possible, were
discussed. The young man's exultation was extreme. He expressed
his feelings pretty freely, after his usual fashion, to everybody; but
he reserved the full flow of his delight for James Dugdale's special
edification.

"It isn't the correct thing to talk to Baldwin about, of course," he

said one day; "but I find it very hard to hold my tongue, when I
think of that ruffian Hungerford, and that it was through me she first
saw him, and got the chance of bringing misery on herself I long to
tell Baldwin all about him. But it wouldn't do. I wonder if he knows
much concerning him."

"Nothing, I should say," returned James shortly,--he never could

be induced to say much when the topic of Margaret and her lover
was in any way under discussion,--but the unsuspecting Haldane, in
whose eyes James Dugdale, though a more interesting companion,
was a contemporary of his father, and in the "fogey" category, did
not notice this reluctance.

"Well, I suppose not," said Haldane musingly. "It's a pity; for he

would understand what we all think about him, if he did; and I don't
see how he is to realise that otherwise."

"Margaret will teach him how he is estimated," said James sadly.

"I hope so," was Haldane's hearty and emphatic reply. "By Jove!
it's a wonderful thing, when you come to think of it, that anybody
should have things made up to them so completely as Madge is
going to have them made up. I don't mean only his money, you
know. I wonder how she will get on in Scotland, how she will play
her part among the people there. I daresay Baldwin's neighbours will
not like her much; I suppose the mothers in that part of the world
looked upon him as their natural prey."

"I don't know about that," said James, "but I fancy Margaret will
be quite able to hold her own wherever she may go; she is the sort
of woman who may be safely trusted with wealth and station."

This was by no means the only conversation which took place

between the ex-tutor and the ex-pupil on the subject then
engrossing; the attention of the families at Davyntry and Chayleigh;
Haldane's exuberant delight was apt to communicate itself after a
similar fashion very frequently, and altogether he subjected his
friend just then to a not inconsiderable amount of pain.
 During the few weeks which intervened before the period named,
very shortly after their engagement, for the marriage of Margaret
Hungerford and Fitzwilliam Baldwin, there was no approach on
Margaret's part to any confidential intercourse with James Dugdale.
By tacit mutual consent they avoided each other, and yet she never
so wronged in her thoughts the man who loved her with so
disinterested a love, as to believe him alienated from her, jealous of
the good fortune of another, or grudging to her of the happiness
which was to be hers.

In the experience of her own feelings, in the engrossment of her

own heart and thoughts in the new and roseate prospects which had
opened suddenly before her, after her long wandering in dreary
ways, she had learned to comprehend James Dugdale. She knew
now how patiently and constantly he had loved and still loved her;
she knew now what had given him a prescient knowledge of her
former self-sought doom; she knew what had inspired the efforts he
had made to avert it from her. Inexpressible kindness and pity for
him, painful gratitude towards this man whom she never could have
loved, filled Margaret's heart; but she kept aloof from him.
Explanation between them there could not be--it would be equally
bad for both. He who had so striven to avert her misery would be
consoled by her perfect happiness; in the time to come, the blessed
peaceful time, he should share it.

So she and James lived in the usual close relation, and Mr.
Carteret and Haldane talked freely of the coming event, of the
splendid prospects opening before Margaret; but never a word was
spoken directly between the two.

A strongly appreciative friendship had sprung up between Mr.

Baldwin and James Dugdale. The elder man regarded the younger
without one feeling of envy of the good looks, the good health, the
physical activity,--in all which he was himself deficient,--but with a
thorough comprehension of the difference between them which they
constituted, and an almost womanish admiration of one so richly
dowered by nature.

Since Mr. Baldwin's engagement to Margaret,--though James had

loyally forced himself to utter the congratulations of whose truth and
meaning none could form a truer estimate than he,--there had been
little intercourse between them. Mr. Baldwin now claimed Margaret
as his chief companion during his daily and lengthy visits to
Chayleigh; and she, with all a woman's tact and instinctive delicacy,
quietly aided the unobserved severance between himself and James,
of which her lover was wholly unconscious.

So the time--a time of such exceeding and incredible happiness to

Margaret, that not all her previous experience of the delusions of life
could avail to check the avidity with which she enjoyed every hour of
it, and listened with greedy ears to every promise and protestation
for the future--went on.

On one point only she found she was not to have her own wishes
carried out, wishes shared to the utmost by Mr. Baldwin. Her father
did not take kindly to the idea of leaving Chayleigh. His reasons were
amusingly characteristic.

"You see, my dear," he said, when the matter had been urged
upon him, with every kind of plea and prayer by Margaret, and with
respectful earnestness by Mr. Baldwin, "I should never feel quite
myself, I should never feel quite comfortable away from my
collection. You, my dear Margaret, never had any great taste in that
way, and of course you don't understand it; but there's Baldwin,
now. You wouldn't like to part with your collection, would you? You
have a great many other reasons for liking the Deane, of course,
besides that; but considering only that, you would not like it?"

"Good heavens, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Baldwin, "how could you

imagine such a thing as that we ever dreamed of parting you and
your collection? Why, we should as soon have thought of asking you
to leave your arms or legs after you. Of course you'll move your
collection to the Deane; there's room for a dozen of the size."

Mr. Carteret was a little put out, not exactly annoyed, but gêné;
and Margaret, who understood him perfectly, stopped her lover's
flow of protestation and proposal by a look, and they soon left him
to himself; whereupon Mr. Carteret immediately summoned James,
and imparted to him the nature of the conversation which had just
taken place.

"Baldwin is the very best fellow in the world, James," said the old
gentleman in a confidential tone; "but, between you and me, we
collectors and lovers of natural history are rather odd in our ways;
we have our little peculiarities, and our little jealousies, and our little
envies. You know I would not deny Baldwin's good qualities; and he
has been very generous too in giving me specimens; but I have a
kind of notion, for all that, that he would have no objection to my
collection finding its way to the Deane."

Here Mr. Carteret looked at James Dugdale, as if he had made a

surprisingly deep discovery; and James Dugdale had considerable
difficulty in concealing his amusement.

"Now you can, I am sure, quite understand that, however I may

appreciate Baldwin, I have no fancy for seeing my collection, after
working at it all these years, merged in another--merged, my dear
James!"

And Mr. Carteret's tone grew positively irate, while he tapped

Dugdale's arm impatiently with his long fingers.

"But, sir," said James, "I quite understand all that; but how about
parting with Margaret? If she is to be at the Deane, hadn't you
better be there also? She is of more importance to you than even
your collection, is she not?"
 "Well, yes, in a certain sense," said the old gentleman, rather
dubiously and reluctantly; "in a certain sense, of course she is; but,
then, I can go to the Deane when I like, and she can come here
when she likes; and so long as I know she is happy (and she cannot
fail to be happy this time), I don't so much mind. But I really could
not part with my collection; and if it were moved and merged, I
should feel I had parted with it. No, no, Margery and Baldwin will be
great companions for each other, and they will do very well without
us, James; we will just stay quietly here in the old place, and I am
sure Haldane will undertake not to move my collection when I am
gone."

Immediately after this conversation, Mr. Carteret applied himself

with great assiduity to the precious pursuit which, in the great
interest of the domestic discussions then pending, he had somewhat
neglected, and showed his jealous zeal for his beloved specimens by
a thousand little indications which Margaret perceived, and which
she interpreted to Mr. Baldwin, very much to his amusement.

"Haldane," said James Dugdale to Captain Carteret, "I think you

had better give Margaret a hint that she had better not urge her
father's leaving Chayleigh; depend upon it, he will never consent,
except it be very much against his will; and if she presses him, she
will only run the risk of making him like Baldwin very much less than
he does at present."

"You are quite right," said Haldane, who was busily engaged in
mending the eldest Miss Crofton's riding-whip; "but why don't you
tell her so yourself?"

James was rather embarrassed by the question; but he said, "It

would come better from you."

"Would it? I don't see it. However, I don't mind. I'll speak to her.
All right."
 Haldane did speak to Margaret; and she acquiesced in James's
opinion, and conformed to his advice. The subject dropped, and Mr.
Carteret entirely recovered his spirits. Haldane had another little
matter to negotiate with his sister, in which he was not so
successful. He knew the wedding was to be very quiet indeed; but
everybody either then knew, or soon would know, that such an
event was in contemplation; and he could not see that it could make
any difference to Margaret just to have the eldest Miss Crofton for
her bridesmaid. He could assure his sister the eldest, "Lucy, you
know," was "an extremely nice girl," and her admiration of Margaret
quite enthusiastic.

Margaret was quite sure Lucy Crofton was a very nice girl indeed;
and she would have her for her bridesmaid, had she any intention of
indulging in such an accessory, but she had none; and Haldane (of
course men did not understand such matters) had not reflected that
to invite Miss Lucy in such a capacity must imply inviting all her
family as spectators, and entail the undying enmity of the
"neighbourhood" at their exclusion.

"O, hang it, Madge," said Haldane in impatient disdain of this

reasoning, "we are not people of such importance that the
neighbourhood need kick up a row because we are married or
buried without their assistance."

"We are not," said Margaret gently, "but Fitzwilliam is; and don't
you suppose, you dear stupid boy, that there are plenty of people to
envy me my good fortune, of which they only know the flimsy
surface, and to find me guilty of all sorts of insolences that I never
dreamt of, if they only get the chance?"

"I never thought of that. You're quite right, after all, Madge," said
Haldane ruefully.

"There's a good deal you have never thought of, and which my life
has made plain to me," said Margaret; and then she added in a
lower tone, "Can you not understand, Hal, how terribly trying my
wedding will be to me, how many painful thoughts it must bring me?
Can you not see that I must wish to get through it as quietly as
possible?"

This was the first word of reference, however distant, to the past
which her brother had heard from Margaret's lips; this was the first
time he had ever seen the hard, lowering, stern, self-despising look
upon her face, which had been familiar to all the other dwellers at
Chayleigh before his return, and before she had accepted her new
life and hope.

She looked gloomily out over the prospect as she spoke. She and
Haldane were walking together, and were just then opposite to the
beeches. She caught Haldane's arm, and turned him sharply round,
then walked rapidly away from the spot.

"What's the matter?" said her brother. He felt what she had just
said deeply, notwithstanding his insouciance. "What are you walking
so fast for? You look as if you saw a ghost!"

"What, in the daylight, Hal?" said Margaret with a forced laugh.

"No, we are rather late; let us go in."

The pleasure of Lady Davyntry in the perfect success of all her

most cherished wishes would have been delightful to witness to any
observer of a philosophic tendency. It is so rarely that any one is
happy and grateful in proportion to one's anxiety and effort. Such
purely disinterested pleasure as was hers is not frequently desired or
enjoyed.

"If anybody had told me I could ever feel so happy again in a

world which my Richard has left, I certainly would not have believed
them," said Eleanor, as Margaret strove to thank her for the welcome
she gave her to the proud and happy position soon to be hers; "and
you would hardly believe me, Madge, if I were to tell you how short
a time after the day I tried to make Fitz spy you through the glass
there, and he was much too proper and genteel to do anything of
the kind, I began to look forward to this happy event."

To do Lady Davyntry justice, it was some time before she admitted

minor considerations in support of her vast and intense satisfaction;
it was actually twenty-four hours after her brother had informed her
that Margaret had accepted him, when she found herself saying
aloud, in the gladness of her heart and the privacy of her own room,
"How delightful it is to think that now there is no danger of his
marrying a Scotchwoman! How savage Jessie MacAlpine will be!"

The dew was shining on the grass and the flowers, the birds had
hardly begun their morning hymn, on a morning in the gorgeous
month of June, when Margaret Hungerford, wrapped in a white
dressing-gown, and leaning out of the passion-flower-framed
window of her room, looked out towards the woods of Davyntry. The
tall, fantastic, twisted chimneys and turrets, rich with the deep red
of the old brickwork, showed through the leaf-laden trees.
Margaret's pale, clear, spiritual face was turned towards them, her
hands were clasped upon the window-sill; she leaned more forward
still, and her long hair was stirred by the light wind.

"The one only thing he asks me for his sake," she murmured; "but
O, how difficult, how impossible, never to look back, never
voluntarily to look back upon the past again! To live for the present
and the future, to live only in his life, as he lives only in mine. Ah,
that is easy for him, or at least easier; and it may be so--but for me,
for me." She swayed her slight figure to and fro, and wrung her
hands. It was long since the gesture had ceased to be habitual now.
"I will try, I will keep my word to you, in all honest intention at least,
my darling, my love, my husband!" She slightly waved one hand
towards the woods, and a beautiful flush spread itself over her face.
"I will turn all my heart for ever from the past, if any effort of my will
can do it, and live in your life only."

A few hours later, the quietest wedding that had ever been known
in that part of the country took place in the parish church of
Chayleigh, very much to the dissatisfaction of the few spectators
who had had sufficient good fortune to be correctly informed of the
early hour appointed for the ceremony.

"Gray silk, my dear, and a chip bonnet, as plain as you please,"

said Miss Laughton, the village dressmaker, to Miss Harland, the
village milliner. "I should like to know what poor Mrs. Carteret, that's
dead and gone, but had as genteel a taste in dress as ever I knew,
would say to such a set-out as that."

"I expect, Jemima," replied Miss Harland, who had a strong dash
of spite in her composition, and felt herself aggrieved at the loss of
Mrs. Hungerford's modest custom in the article of widow's caps--"I
expect madam would not have caught Mr. Baldwin easy, if Mrs.
Carteret was alive; and gray silk and chip is good enough for her. I
wonder what she wore at her wedding, when she ran away with Mr.
Hungerford--which he was a gay chap, whatever they had to say
against him."

In these days, the avoidance of festive proceedings on the

occasion of a marriage is not unusual; but when Margaret was
married, that the bride and bridegroom should drive away from the
church-door was an almost unheard-of proceeding. Nevertheless, Mr.
Baldwin and Margaret departed after that fashion; and Lady
Davyntry only returned to Chayleigh to console Mr. Carteret, who
really did not seem to need consolation.

A few days later, as Margaret and her husband were strolling arm-
in-arm in the evening along the sea-shore of a then almost unknown
village in South Wales,--now a prosperous and consequently
intolerable "watering-place,"--Mr. Baldwin said to her--they had been
talking of some letters he had had from his steward:

"I wonder if you have any doubts in your mind about liking the
Deane, Margaret. I am longing to see you there, to watch you
making acquaintance with the place, taking your throne in your own
kingdom."

"And I," she said with a smile and a wistful look in her gray eyes,
"sometimes think that when I am there I shall feel like Lady
Burleigh."

CHAPTER III.

THREE LETTERS.

Eighteen months had elapsed since the marriage of Fitzwilliam

Baldwin and Margaret Hungerford,--a period which had brought
about few changes at Chayleigh, beyond the departure, at an early
stage of its duration, of Haldane Carteret to join his regiment, and
which had been productive of only one event of importance. The
eldest Miss Crofton had terminated at her leisure, after Margaret's
departure, the capture of the young captain, as he was called by a
courteous anticipation of the natural course of events, and there was
every reason to suppose that the ensuing year would witness a
second wedding from Chayleigh, in the parish church, which should
be by no means obnoxious to public sentiment, on the score of
quiet, if the eldest Miss Crofton should have her own way, which,
indeed, the fair Lucy generally contrived to procure in every affair in
which she was interested.

Her parents entirely approved of the engagement. She had no

fortune, and Haldane's prospective independence was certain. It was
a very nice thing for her to be wife to the future Mr. Carteret of
Chayleigh, and almost a nicer thing for her to be sister-in-law to Mrs.
Meriton Baldwin of the Deane.

Margaret had become a wonderfully important personage in the

neighbourhood she had left. Every particular of her household, every
item of her expenditure, and--when she stayed a month at her
father's house after her little daughter's birth, prior to going abroad
for an indefinite period, now more than six months ago,--every
article of her dress, was a subject of discussion and interest to
people who had taken no particular notice of her in her previous
stages of existence. The eldest Miss Crofton had a little ovation
when she returned from a visit to the Deane, and simple Mr. Carteret
was surprised to find how many friends he was possessed of, how
many inquirers were unwearyingly anxious to learn the latest news
of "dear Mrs. Baldwin."

The quiet household at Chayleigh pursued its usual routine course,

and little change had come to the two men, the one old, the other
now elderly, who were its chief members. Of that little, the greater
portion had fallen to the share of James Dugdale. His always bent
and twisted figure was now more bent and twisted, his hair was
grayer and scantier, his eyes were more hollow, his face was more
worn, his quiet manner quieter, his rare smile more seldom seen.
Any one familiar with his appearance eighteen months before, who
had seen him enter the cheerful breakfast-room at Chayleigh one
bright winter's morning, when Christmas-day was but a week off,
would have found it difficult to believe that the interval had been so
short.
 James Dugdale stood by the fire for a few minutes, then glancing
round at the breakfast-table, he muttered, "The post is not in--
behind time--the snow, I suppose," and went to the large window,
against which he leaned, idly watching the birds as they hopped
about on the snow-laden ground, and extracted bits of leaves and
dry morsels of twig from its niggard breast. He was still standing
there when Mr. Carteret came in, closely followed by a servant with
a small tray laden with letters, which he duly sorted and placed
before their respective claimants.

There was a large foreign letter among those addressed to James

Dugdale, but he let it lie beside his plate unnoticed; all his attention
was for the letter which Mr. Carteret was deciphering with laborious
difficulty.

"From Margaret," said the old gentleman at length, taking off his
double glasses with an air of relief, and laying them on the table.
"She does write such a scratchy hand, it quite makes my head ache
to read it."

"Where are they now?" asked James.

"At Sorrento. Margaret writes in great delight about the place and
the climate, and the people they meet there, and the beauty and
health of little Gerty. And Baldwin adds a postscript about the cicale,
which is just what I wanted to know; he considers there's no doubt
about their chirp being much stronger and more prolonged than our
grasshopper's, and he has carefully examined the articulations."

"Does Margaret say anything about her own health?" interrupted

James, so impatiently that he felt ashamed of himself the next
minute, although Mr. Carteret took the sudden suppression of his
favourite topic with perfect meekness, as he made answer:

"Yes, a good deal. Here it is, read the letter for yourself, James,"--
and he handed over the document to his companion, and betook
himself to the perusal of a scientific review,--a production rarer in
those days than now,--and for whose appearance Mr. Carteret was
apt to look with eagerness.

James Dugdale read the letter which Margaret Baldwin had written
to her father from end to end, and then he turned back to the
beginning, and read it through again. No document which could
come from any human hand could have such a charm and value for
him as one of her letters.

His feelings had undergone no change as regarded her, though, as

regarded himself, they had become purified from the little dross of
selfishness and vain regret that had hung about them for a little
after she had left Chayleigh. He could now rejoice, with a pure and
true heart, in her exceeding, her perfect happiness; he could think of
her husband, whom she loved with an intense and passionate
devotion which had transformed her character, as it seemed at times
to transfigure her face, illumining it with a heavenly light--with
ardent friendship and gratitude as the giver of such happiness, and
with sincere and ungrudging admiration as the being who was
capable of inspiring such a love. He could thank God now, from his
inmost heart, for the change which had been wrought in, and for,
the woman he loved with a love which angels might have seen with
approval. All he had longed and prayed and striven for, was her
good--and it had come--it had been sent in the utmost abundance;
and he never murmured now, ever so lightly, that he had not been
suffered to count for anything in the fulfilment of his hope, in the
answer to his prayer.

He read, with keen delight, the simple but strong words in which
Margaret described to her father the peace, happiness,
companionship and luxury of her life. Only the lightest cloud had
cast a shade over the brightness of Margaret's life since her
marriage. She had been rather delicate in health after the birth of
her child, and a warmer climate than that of Scotland had been
recommended for her. Mr. Baldwin had not been sorry for the
opportunity thus afforded him of indulging Margaret and himself by
visiting the countries so well known to him, but which his wife had
never seen. Her experience of travel had been one of wretchedness;
in this respect, also, he would make the present contrast with and
efface the past. The "Lady Burleigh" feeling which Margaret had
anticipated had come upon her sometimes, in the stately and well-
ordered luxury of her new home; she had sometimes experienced a
startling sense of the discrepancy between the things she had seen
and suffered, and her surroundings at the Deane; but these fitful
feelings had not recurred often or remained with her long, and she
had become deeply attached to her beautiful home. Nevertheless,
she, too, had welcomed the prospect of a foreign tour; and during
her visit, en route, to Chayleigh, she had spoken so freely and
frequently to James of her anticipations of pleasure, of the delight
she took in her husband's cultivated taste, and in his manifold
learning, that James perceived how rapidly and variously her intellect
had developed in the sunshine of happiness and domestic love.

"Though she has always been the first of women in my mind,"

James Dugdale had said to himself then, "I would not have said she
was either decidedly clever or decidedly handsome formerly, and
now she is both beautiful and brilliant."

And so she was. It was not the praise of prejudice which

pronounced her so. There were many who would, if they could, have
denied such attributes to Mrs. Baldwin of the Deane, but they might
as well have attempted to deny light to the sunshine.

In this letter, which James Dugdale read with such pleasure,

Margaret said she was stronger, "much stronger," and that every one
thought her looking very well. "Fitzwilliam is so much of that
opinion," she wrote, "that he thinks this is a favourable opportunity
of having a life-size portrait taken of me, especially as a first-rate
artist has just been introduced to us,--if the picture be successful, a
replica shall be made for you. The long windows of our sitting-rooms
open on a terrace overhanging the sea, and the walls are overrun
with passion-flower--just like those at home, which James used to
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