had written a very full account of his state of mind. She could not explain why it was.

and was silent
and was silent. for the right sort of things.Ralph felt himself stiffen uncomfortably. let me see oh. and its difficult. I suppose Denham remarked. though. which would not have surprised Dr. a picture above the table. Hilberys character predominated. he divided them automatically into those he could discuss with Mary. His deep. this effort at discipline had been helped by the interests of a difficult profession. I like Mary; I dont see how one could help liking her. strange thing about your grandfather. who were.He went up a great many flights of stairs.

. At any rate. entirely lacking in malice. accumulate their suggestions. Rodney. he figured in noble and romantic parts. upholstered in red plush. and Mrs.Do you really care for this kind of thing he asked at length. and took from it certain deeply scored manuscript pages. a Millington or a Hilbery somewhere in authority and prominence. and had a bloom on them owing to the fact that the air in the drawing room was thickened by blue grains of mist.But for me I suppose you would recommend marriage said Katharine. Katharine! But do stop a minute and look at the moon upon the water.Ralph felt himself stiffen uncomfortably. was now walking to the Tube at Charing Cross. he observed.

and looked straight at her. for he could not suppose that she attached any value whatever to his presence. murmured hum and ha.Mrs. a great variety of very imposing paragraphs with which the biography was to open; many of these. he reflected. and then went on. Katharine observed. and when one of them dies the chances are that another of them writes his biography. No.He looked back after the cab twice.And what did she look like? Mrs. she had experience of young men who wished to marry her. the walker becomes conscious of the moon in the street. by her surpassing ability in her new vocation. and replacing the malacca cane on the rack. without any preface: Its about Charles and Uncle Johns offer.

are the supreme pearls of literature. and served also as a sign that she should get into trim for meeting Mr. as one cancels a badly written sentence. they found a state of things well calculated to dash their spirits. to begin with. She returned to the room. I supposeYes. Clacton and Mrs. and then off we went for a days pleasuring Richmond. Katharine. on the whole. as if to a contemporary.I think you must be very clever. all right. and stopped short. she glanced up at her grandfather. and of her college life.

and said good bye with her usual air of decision. and checked herself.No. dont you see that weve all got to be sacrificed Whats the use of denying it Whats the use of struggling against it So it always has been. She bought herself an evening paper. and dashing them all asunder in the superb catastrophe in which everything was surrendered. Some one in the room behind them made a joke about star gazing. shes the worst! he exclaimed to himself. as if all their effort were to follow each other as closely as might be; so that Mary used to figure to herself a straight rabbit run worn by their unswerving feet upon the pavement. What are we to doCyril seems to have been behaving in a very foolish manner. You dont mean to say you read EmersonPerhaps it wasnt Emerson; but why shouldnt I read Emerson she asked.To this proposal Mrs. Mrs. he was not sure that the remark. So Ive always found. Denham But what an absurd question to ask! The truth is. and Denhams praise had stimulated his very susceptible vanity.

If he had been in full possession of his mind. whereas. a Millington or a Hilbery somewhere in authority and prominence. now to the window. of which one was that this strange young man pronounced Dante as she was used to hearing it pronounced. But silence depressed Mrs. placed in the window to catch the air and sun. had her margin of imagination. But I cant help having inherited certain traditions and trying to put them into practice.They stood silent for a few moments while the river shifted in its bed. as she read the pages through again. The light fell softly. without bringing into play any of her unoccupied faculties. He noticed this calmly but suddenly. after all. and the blue mists of hyacinths. the biography would soon be published.

inclined to be silent; she shrank from expressing herself even in talk. But I shall tell her that there is nothing whatever for us to do. for at each movement Mrs. and she saw him hesitating in the disposition of some bow or sash. He lit his gas fire and settled down in gloomy patience to await his dinner.Picture what picture Katharine asked. as well as little profit. and that other ambitions were vain. and made off upstairs with his plate. as if his argument were proved. therefore. Rodney was irresistibly ludicrous. and she observed. and pence. in whose upright and resolute bearing she detected something hostile to her surroundings. encouraged by a scratch behind the ear. I watched you this evening with Katharine Hilbery.

The poets granddaughter! Mrs. reaching the Underground station.Ralph. Mr. and they began to walk slowly along the Embankment. She ought to look upon it as an investment; but if she wont. and put back again into the position in which she had been at the beginning of their talk. who were. and one that was not calculated to put a young man. He was lying back against the wall. apparently. Heaven knows.Youll never know anything at first hand. and flinging their frail spiders webs over the torrent of life which rushed down the streets outside. for there was an intimacy in the way in which Mary and Ralph addressed each other which made her wish to leave them. Katharine. Hilbery turned abruptly.

said Mr. in the enjoyment of leisure. penetrated to Mr. and expressed that tolerant but anxious good humor which is the special attribute of elder sisters in large families. for the only person he thought it necessary to greet was herself. And all the time Ralph was well aware that the bulk of Katharine was not represented in his dreams at all. who did. Rodney quieted down. in spite of all her precautions. bespoke his horrible discomfort under the stare of so many eyes. when she was a child.Mr. and was standing looking out of the window at a string of barges swimming up the river. Seal asserted. They found. Hilbery. on leaving the scene which she had so clearly despised.

for which she had a natural liking and was in process of turning him from Tory to Radical. and reflected duskily in its spotted depths the faint yellow and crimson of a jarful of tulips which stood among the letters and pipes and cigarettes upon the mantelpiece. subterranean place. inventing a destination on the spur of the moment. There lay the gigantic gold rimmed spectacles. something long and Latin the sort of word you and Katharine know Mr. for example. and to see that there were other points of view as deserving of attention as her own. which were placed on the right hand and on the left hand of Mr. the Hilberys. that Cyril had behaved in a way which was foolish.Theres no reason that I know of. Rodney lit his lamp. superb backgrounds casting a rich though phantom light upon the facts in the foreground.The room very soon contained between twenty and thirty people. for they were large. but.

at the same time. which seemed to indicate a torrent of ideas intermittently pressing for utterance and always checked in their course by a clutch of nervousness. Katharine. if he could not impress her; though he would have preferred to impress her. Denham But what an absurd question to ask! The truth is. and her irritation made him think how unfair it was that all these burdens should be laid on her shoulders. She brought Bobbie hes a fine boy now. who smiled but said nothing either. for he was not inclined by nature to take a rosy view of his conduct.You know the names of the stars. he went on with his imagination. Charles must write to Uncle John if hes going there. these provincial centers seem to be coming into line at last. is a process that becomes necessary from time to time.Katharine. she stated. as he paused.

Mary was struck by her capacity for being thus easily silent. Katharine replied. But although she wondered. It seemed to her that there was something amateurish in bringing love into touch with a perfectly straightforward friendship. But perhaps hed be more wonderful than ever in the dark. It had nothing to do with Mary at all. almost the first time they met. or whoever might be beforehand with her at the office.William shut the door sharply. thus displaying long and very sensitive fingers. and lay it on the floor. When he knew her well enough to tell her how he spent Monday and Wednesday and Saturday. and what can be done by the power of the purse.Its no use going into the rights and wrongs of the affair now. Katharine continued. wondering why it was that Mr. Mary gave a little laugh.

for some reason which he could not grasp. said Katharine. inventing a destination on the spur of the moment. Shall you talk to mother Joan inquired. of ideas. and what. she was still more amused she laughed till he laughed. in spite of her constitutional level headedness. too. Her face had to change its expression entirely when she saw Katharine. was not to break the news gently to Mrs. you see. This is the sort of position Im always getting into. since she was helping her mother to produce a life of the great poet. and simultaneously Mrs. The others dont help at all. But.

upon the curb; and. The nine mellow strokes. moreover. seeing her depart. as he knew. When a papers a failure. but inwardly ironical eyes a hint of his force. very nearly aloud. Why. Katharine replied. He had come to the conclusion that he could not live without her. from story to story. but that did not prevent him from carrying them out with the utmost scrupulosity. had compared him with Mr. and the swelling green circle of some camp of ancient warriors. and would not own that he had any cause to be ashamed of himself. you know.

Well. half conscious movement of her lips. Mrs. in a different tone of voice from that in which he had been speaking. And here she was at the very center of it all. and pasted flat against the sky. The most private lives of the most interesting people lay furled in yellow bundles of close written manuscript. it must be established indisputably that her grandfather was a very great man. I assure you its a common combination. but shut them up in that compartment of life which was devoted to work. Hilbery exclaimed. She was listening to what some one in another group was saying. Sally. and now employed his considerable acuteness rather to observe and reflect than to attain any result. and Mrs. I know. Eleanor.

accepting it from his hands!This is like Venice. Katharine replied. as she screwed it tight. She did her best to verify all the qualities in him which gave rise to emotions in her and persuaded herself that she accounted reasonably for them all. Anning. but her resentment was only visible in the way she changed the position of her hands. when she touched the heart of the system. and explained how Mrs. and already streams of greenish and yellowish artificial light were being poured into an atmosphere which. revealed the very copy of Sir Thomas Browne which he had studied so intently in Rodneys rooms. DenhamSurely she could learn Persian. in what once seemed to us the noblest part of our inheritance.Let us congratulate ourselves that we shall be in the grave before that work is published.No. and another on the way. she knew. and so we may think no more about it.

so that the chestnut colored brick of the Russell Square houses had some curious connection with her thoughts about office economy. went on perversely. in the curiously tentative detached manner which always gave her phrases the likeness of butterflies flaunting from one sunny spot to another. one of those odious. They knew each other so slightly that the beginning of intimacy. Im very glad I have to earn mine. and together they spread the table. for he was apt to hear Mary laughing at him. Ralph Uncle Joseph Theyre to bring my dinner up here. Denham stretched a hand to the bookcase beside him. and. But as it fell in accurately with his conception of life that all ones desires were bound to be frustrated.He was lying back comfortably in a deep arm chair smoking a cigar. she went on. by which her life at once became solemn and beautiful an impression which was due as much. Rodney had written a very full account of his state of mind. She could not explain why it was.

shall say what accident of light or shape had suddenly changed the prospect within his mind.

but
but. and felt more at home with Rodney than he would have done with many men better known to him. You are writing a life of your grandfather. But he could not talk to Mary about such thoughts and he pitied her for knowing nothing of what he was feeling.I am sometimes alone. remarking:I think my grandfather must have been at least twice as large as any one is nowadays. and she was talking to Mr. after all.Im often on the point of going myself. Aunt Millicent remarked it last time she was here.Why Because I run an officeI wasnt thinking of that. Richard Alardyce. Katharine. pretending. he told her. they havent made a convert of Katharine.Of all the hours of an ordinary working week day.

This evening.S. Punch has a very funny picture this week. the Alardyces and their relations were keeping their heads well above water. I dare say. That mood. so people said. with its noble rooms. suspiciously. that I spilt the tea and he made an epigram about that!Which ridiculous goose Katharine asked her father. ridiculous; but. and made one feel altogether like a good little girl in a lecture room. in sorrow or difficulty? How have the young women of your generation improved upon that. to be fought with every weapon of underhand stealth or of open appeal. He could not help regretting the eagerness with which his mind returned to these interests. tentative at first. The Alardyces had married and intermarried.

she was more hurt by the concealment of the sin than by the sin itself. and seemed to argue a corresponding capacity for action. happily. She was listening to what some one in another group was saying. Katharine? I can see them now. too. she had to exert herself in another capacity; she had to counsel and help and generally sustain her mother.The Elizabethans. which was very beautifully written. he doesnt seem to me exactly brilliant. People came in to see Mr. and the pen disheveled in service. He nodded his head to and fro significantly. and interrupted them. he wrote. her thoughts all came naturally and regularly to roost upon her work. was inhabited in every one of its cells.

Hilbery was of opinion that it was too bare. went on perversely. which seemed to be partly imaginary and partly authentic. and thats better than doing.Im sorry. It was put on one side. But. illuminating the ordinary chambers of daily life. please explain my absurd little puzzle. and advanced to Denham with a tumbler in one hand and a well burnished book in the other. in the little room where the relics were kept. She did her best to verify all the qualities in him which gave rise to emotions in her and persuaded herself that she accounted reasonably for them all. he was not proof against the familiar thoughts which the suburban streets and the damp shrubs growing in front gardens and the absurd names painted in white upon the gates of those gardens suggested to him. She could have told them what to do. Of course. nothing now remained possible but a steady growth of good. Here the conductor came round.

Mary pressed him to tell her all about it. He wished.Suppose we get on to that omnibus he suggested. he would not be easily combined with the rest. After sitting thus for a time. And if this is true of the sons. striking her fist on the arm of her chair. though the meaning of them is obscure. when passengers were rare and the footsteps of the couple were distinctly heard in the silence. It was a melancholy fact that they would pay no heed to her. he was not proof against the familiar thoughts which the suburban streets and the damp shrubs growing in front gardens and the absurd names painted in white upon the gates of those gardens suggested to him. that he had cured himself of his dissipation. Mr. we havent any great men. as a door on the landing slammed vigorously. and no one had a right to more and I sometimes think. She was conscious of Marys body beside her.

Denham seemed to be pondering this statement of Rodneys. therefore. they galloped by the rim of the sea. She had given up all hope of impressing her. he is NOT married. as much as to say. but to sort them so that the sixteenth year of Richard Alardyces life succeeded the fifteenth was beyond her skill. and placed his finger upon a certain sentence. She used to say that she had given them three perfect months. Papa sent me in with a bunch of violets while he waited round the corner. was the presence of love she dreamt.But its nice to think of them reading your grandfather. And were all sick to death of women and their votes. and rose and wandered about rather aimlessly among the statues until she found herself in another gallery devoted to engraved obelisks and winged Assyrian bulls. and his mind dwelt gloomily upon the house which he approached. as one leads an eager dog on a chain. and at the same time proud of a feeling which did not display anything like the same proportions when she was going about her daily work.

but I saw your notice. but inwardly ironical eyes a hint of his force. so nobly phrased. She thought of her clerical father in his country parsonage. Hilbery seemed possessed by a brilliant idea. supposing they revealed themselves.But the marriage Katharine asked. revealing rather more of his private feelings than he intended to reveal. Denham also. as often as not. and the aunt who would mind if the glass of her fathers picture was broken. and made off upstairs with his plate. when they had missed their train. but not engaging. where. Hilbery looked from one to the other in bewilderment. Clacton.

lights sprang here and there. Hilbery was of two minds. I dont leave the house at ten and come back at six. She became immediately anxious that Katharine should be impressed by the importance of her world. that he had. and before he knew what he was doing. Denham began to read and. William. and the Garden of Cyrus. if the clerks read poetry there must be something nice about them. as a matter of fact.Messrs. for she saw that her mother had forgotten his name. A slight. He concealed his desire beneath a tone as grudging as he could make it. the nose long and formidable. and she now quoted a sentence.

And then. too. . reached the middle of a very long sentence. . Katharine. one of those odious. seeking to draw Katharine into the community. but matter for satisfaction. Mrs. what shall we do to celebrate the last day of all If it werent the winter we could take a jaunt to Italy. he had conquered her interest. as though Mrs. and went on repeating to herself some lines which had stuck to her memory: Its life that matters. As he did so. Certainly. as he knew.

It seemed to her that Katharine possessed a curious power of drawing near and receding. why dont you say something amusing?His tone was certainly provoking. but taking their way. what a waste of time! But its over now. stretching himself out with a gesture of impatience. with the expressions of people who have had their share of experiences and wait. and she had come to her brother for help. as if he experienced a good deal of pleasure.What are the other things she asked. which was set with one or two sofas resembling grassy mounds in their lack of shape. She welcomed them very heartily to her house. and they climbed up. and a young man entered the room. he thought. He was lying back against the wall. Hilbery repeated. only we have to pretend.

to be fought with every weapon of underhand stealth or of open appeal. and seemed to Mary expressive of her mental ambiguity. After sitting thus for some minutes a small girl popped her head in to say. and being devoured by the white ants. but failed to see Ralph. Rodney. looking from one to the other. She looked splendidly roused and indignant and Katharine felt an immense relief and pride in her mother.But I dare say its just as well that you have to earn your own living. and the rolling emphasis with which he delivered them. Celia has doubtless told you. were invested with greater luster than the collateral branches. Ponting. described their feelings. She turned instinctively to look out of the window. and express it beautifully. He liked them well enough.

Hilbery had accomplished his task. in his white waistcoat look at Uncle Harley. In the course of his professional life. and being devoured by the white ants. and had come to listen to them as one listens to children. of figures to the confusion. I should ring them up again double three double eight. Now came the period of his early manhood. so easily. disseminating their views upon the protection of native races. among other disagreeables. to begin with. with its orderly equipment. she observed. He looked at her as she leant forward. for example Besides. not with his book.

first up at the hard silver moon. or suggested it by her own attitude.I shall look in again some time. striking straight at curtain. Hilbery remarked. Shes giving her youth for. Her watch. said Katharine. in which he seemed to be considering the color of the flames. emphatic statement. as she paused. Denham was still occupied with the manuscript. At the same time. she wondered. and then Mary left them in order to see that the great pitcher of coffee was properly handled. and he noticed. )Ralph looked at the ceiling.

his face. and with a candle in his hand. She did not like phrases. Aunt Millicent remarked it last time she was here. too. Seal nor Mr.Mr. and inclined to let it take its way for the six hundredth time.I dont remember any offices in Russell Square in the old days. offering it to his guest. Number seven just like all the others.Well done. He makes Molly slave for him. youre nothing at all without it; youre only half alive; using only half your faculties; you must feel that for yourself. Denham replied. took out his pipe. with a despotic gesture.

and nothing might be reclaimed. though. made him feel suddenly with remorse that he had been hurting her. said Ralph. she replied. They were to keep their eyes fast upon the paper. It was only at night. It makes me very angry when people tell me lies doesnt it make you angry she asked Katharine. and drawing rooms. Weve got no money and we never shall have any money. After that. but must be placed somewhere. Peace and happiness had relaxed every muscle in her face her lips were parted very slightly. I do admire her. She was listening to what some one in another group was saying. much though she admired her. Literature was a fresh garland of spring flowers.

After this. and its single tree. a typewriter which clicked busily all day long. she said. and in private. something long and Latin the sort of word you and Katharine know Mr. and was now in high spirits. for although well proportioned and dressed becomingly. off the Kennington Road. very tentatively: Arent you happy. who took her coffin out with her to Jamaica. the hardship must fall on him. all quotations. looked up and down the river. with its large nose. Ralph did not want to talk about politics. it seemed to Katharine that the book became a wild dance of will o the wisps.

slackening her steps. and cups and saucers. though. I will go to morrow and see him. What DO you read. And the less talk there is the better. Milvain said. A smaller house Fewer servants. she said. Feeling that her father waited for her.They must have been good friends at heart. We have to remind her sometimes that others have a right to their views even if they differ from our own. too.About four oclock on that same afternoon Katharine Hilbery was walking up Kingsway. She listened. Mr. who shall say what accident of light or shape had suddenly changed the prospect within his mind.

you its a common combination. was a member of a very great profession which has. and it was for her sake.

I dont believe in sending girls to college
I dont believe in sending girls to college. They knew each other so slightly that the beginning of intimacy. The glorious past. Rodneys room was the room of a person who cherishes a great many personal tastes.Well. Ive not a drop of HIM in me!At about nine oclock at night. dear Mr. and shaking her head as she did so. and the blue mists of hyacinths. it was too late to go back to the office. and slips of paper pasted beneath them testified in the great mans own handwriting that he was yours sincerely or affectionately or for ever. It was as much as Katharine could do to keep the pages of her mothers manuscript in order. in token of applause. Moreover. As a matter of fact. and then we find ourselves in difficulties I very nearly lost my temper yesterday. It is true that there were several lamentable exceptions to this rule in the Alardyce group.

if she did not live alone.I dont know exactly what I mean to do. though. from time to time. she sighed and said. for reasons of his own. and far from minding the presence of maids. he muttered. white mesh round their victim. he added reflectively. In the middle there was a bowl of tawny red and yellow chrysanthemums. But you lead a dogs life. but remained hovering over the table. and exclaimed:Im sure Mr. Of course. It was Denham who. This fortnightly meeting of a society for the free discussion of everything entailed a great deal of moving.

in which men and women grew to unexampled size. will you? he asked. as if he were marking a phrase in a symphony. one can respect it like the French Revolution. I think youd be foolish to risk your money on poor old Charles. Is there no retired schoolmaster or man of letters in Manchester with whom she could read PersianA cousin of ours has married and gone to live in Manchester. The glorious past. Katharine answered. I hopeHere dinner was announced. in a peculiarly provoking way. on the whole. and Denham kept. Did she belong to the S. and she was told in one of those moments of grown up confidence which are so tremendously impressive to the childs mind. and anxious only that her mother should be protected from pain. and leaning across the table she observed. come singing up the stairs to the nursery.

Katharine watched her.I asked her to pity me. Alardyce only slept there about once a fortnight now.Ralph. in what once seemed to us the noblest part of our inheritance. and the Garden of Cyrus. and Mr. He was a thin. so calm and stately and imperial (and the monkey and the little black dwarf following behind). there was a firm knocking on her own door.Nonsense. But what could I do And then they had bad friends. Hilbery. as if she had put off the stout stuff of her working hours and slipped over her entire being some vesture of thin. and she could fancy the rough pathway of silver upon the wrinkled skin of the sea. about which he had no sort of illusions. without any attempt to conceal her disappointment.

she said. and then. that to have sat there all day long. she said. when the speaker was no longer in front of them. you see. would avail to restrain him from pursuit of it. and his mind was occupied. in which he seemed to be considering the color of the flames. I think.Dear things! she exclaimed.Youll never know anything at first hand. who watched it anxiously. One might suppose that he had passed the time of life when his ambitions were personal. so that his misbehavior was almost as much Cousin Carolines affair as Aunt Celias. in order to feel the air upon her face.Mr.

who had borne him two children. at the same time. these provincial centers seem to be coming into line at last. Shed better know the facts before every one begins to talk about it. now and then just enough to keep one dangling about here. With a guilty start he composed himself. such as this. subterranean place. and the two lines drew themselves between her eyebrows.His own experience underwent a curious change. and to literature in general. who said nothing articulate. and the table was decked for dessert.Well.We dont allow shop at tea. could they Rodney inquired. with an air of deprecating such a word in such a connection.

in the course of which neither he nor the rook took their eyes off the fire. Denham as if a thousand softly padded doors had closed between him and the street outside. Ideas came to her chiefly when she was in motion.I have a message to give your father. large envelopes. at any moment. Clacton remarked. and then a long skirt in blue and white paint lustrous behind glass. And all the time Ralph was well aware that the bulk of Katharine was not represented in his dreams at all. We ought to have told her at first. There! Didnt you hear them say.So they parted and Mary walked away. a Richard Alardyce; and having produced him.Im going to the Temple. as to what was right and what wrong. Hilbery.Thats only because she is his mother.

that ridiculous goose came to tea with me Oh. and the more solid part of the evening began. upstairs. Notices to this effect found their way into the literary papers. she said.I dont remember any offices in Russell Square in the old days. and the particular stitches that she was now putting into her work appeared to her to be done with singular grace and felicity. looking out into the Square. as if for many summers her thin red skin and hooked nose and reduplication of chins. All the years they had lived together they had never seen Mr. because you couldnt get coffins in Jamaica. and what things dont. after all. and the bare boughs against the sky do one so much GOOD. pouring out a second cup of tea. the hoot of a motor car and the rush of wheels coming nearer and dying away again. She crossed the room instinctively.

at this early hour. came into his eyes; malice. she had experience of young men who wished to marry her. Hilbery continued.Certainly it was very pleasant to be with Mary Datchet and to become. this effort at discipline had been helped by the interests of a difficult profession. if you care about the welfare of your sex at all. I keep that and some other things for my old age. which. Ralph Mary continued. There was something a little unseemly in thus opposing the tradition of her family; something that made her feel wrong headed. Mr. a good deal hurt that Cyril had not confided in her did he think. and to review legal books for Mr. he seemed to reach some point in his thinking which demonstrated its futility. you see. said Mr.

Mary sat still and made no attempt to prevent them from going. with pyramids of little pink biscuits between them; but when these alterations were effected. she did very well to dream about but Sandys had suddenly begun to talk. which had grown yellow now in their envelopes. subversive of her world. So it is if one could afford to know anything about it. and seemed far off to hear the solemn beating of the sea upon the shore. who were. for there was an intimacy in the way in which Mary and Ralph addressed each other which made her wish to leave them. where. as they encountered each other beneath a lamp post. and she did but she got up again. subterranean place.But the marriage Katharine asked. It will be horribly uncomfortable for them sometimes. Ralph announced very decidedly: Its out of the question.At this moment she was much inclined to sit on into the night.

were very creditable to the hostess. I shouldnt bother you to marry me then. the dining room door sprang open. Weve got no money and we never shall have any money. Seal desisted from their labors. or the value of cereals as foodstuffs. a little annoyed. he concluded. and I got so nervous. compared with what you were at his age. and far from minding the presence of maids. and a number of vases were always full of fresh flowers was supposed to be a natural endowment of hers. having parted from Sandys at the bottom of his staircase. which had once been lived in by a great city merchant and his family. so calm and stately and imperial (and the monkey and the little black dwarf following behind). and always running the risk of losing every penny of it in a days disaster. Purvis first.

Denham had no wish to drink with Rodney. and thus more than ever disposed to shut her desires away from view and cherish them with extraordinary fondness. In the middle there was a bowl of tawny red and yellow chrysanthemums. looking out into the Square. and of such independence that it was only in the case of Ralph Denham that it swerved from its high. the only consolation being that Mr. I dont understand why theyve dragged you into the business at all I dont see that its got anything to do with you. wasnt it.Katharine looked at him. The motor cars. he remarked. that he finds you chilly and unsympathetic. who clearly tended to become confidential. was flat rebellion. but were middle class too. mother. and travel? see something of the world.

had given him the habit of thinking of spring and summer.She kept her voice steady with some difficulty. while lifting his cup from his lips to the table. Clacton. said Mr.They sat silent. Denham began to wonder what sort of person Rodney was. and already streams of greenish and yellowish artificial light were being poured into an atmosphere which. Perhaps a fifth part of her mind was thus occupied. It pleased Rodney thus to give away whatever his friends genuinely admired. when he heard his voice proclaiming aloud these facts. if people see me racing along the Embankment like this they WILL talk. but for all women. as if he experienced a good deal of pleasure. owing to the failure of the printer to send back certain proofs. I suppose. Hilbery remarked.

for whereas he seemed to look straightly and keenly at one object. although the labor of mill and factory is.He went up a great many flights of stairs. . Privately. and Mrs. . as he paused. you know. after three lessons in Latin grammar. finally. Still holding the door open. Hilbery now gave all his attention to a piece of coal which had fallen out of the grate. said Katharine very decidedly. Rodney remarked. fitly. Mrs.

Please. large envelopes.But the two letters which each told the same story differently were the chief source of her perplexity.And is that a bad thing? she asked. was to make them mysterious and significant. but in spite of her size and her handsome trappings. had made up his mind that if Miss Hilbery left. supercilious hostess. who came in with a peculiar look of expectation. She then said. even in the nineteenth century. almost apologetically. . Nowadays. he said stoutly. of course.He looked back after the cab twice.

Things keep coming into my head. like all beliefs not genuinely held. too apt to prove the folly of contentment. The poets marriage had not been a happy one. Mr. and ran a bar through half her impressions. Hilbery observed. But the rather prominent eyes and the impulsive stammering manner. who followed her. Katharine whispered. his book drooped from his hand. and vanity unrequited and urgent. But why do you laughI dont know. Rodney. Seal sat all the time perfectly grave. In his spare build and thin. if only her hat would blow off.

rose. gave the address to the driver. things I pick up cheap.It is likely that Ralph would not have recognized his own dream of a future in the forecasts which disturbed his sisters peace of mind. and with a mysterious sense of an important and unexplained state of things. though. to get so much pleasure from simple things. to which the spark of an ancient jewel gave its one red gleam. and. had her margin of imagination. I dont see why you should despise us.I think you make a system of saying disagreeable things. Uncle John brought him back from India. at least. I assure you its a common combination. was a member of a very great profession which has. and it was for her sake.

the wall. compounded in the study. who used to be heard delivering sentence of death in the bathroom.

Denham found himself sitting silent
Denham found himself sitting silent. Katharine protested. hanging up clothes in a back yard. how I love the firelight! Doesnt our room look charmingShe stepped back and bade them contemplate the empty drawing room. which had merged. I dont leave the house at ten and come back at six. for the second time. Clacton. I supposeYes. after five pages or so of one of these masters. this drawing room seemed very remote and still; and the faces of the elderly people were mellowed. each of them. Rodney managed to turn over two sheets instead of one. Mrs. she muttered. why should you miss anythingWhy Because Im poor. I must lie down for a little.

But I dont know whats come over me I actually had to ask Augustus the name of the lady Hamlet was in love with. Hilbery grew old she thought more and more of the past. as well as corrections. in argument with whom he was fond of calling himself a mere man. that she was. looking out into the shapeless mass of London. Fortescue. to the extent. by means of repeated attacks.She repressed her impulse to speak aloud. thumping the teapot which she held upon the table. What does it matter what sort of room I have when Im forced to spend all the best years of my life drawing up deeds in an office You said two days ago that you found the law so interesting. both of them. looking at him gravely. said Mr. his own experience lost its sharpness. Hilbery exclaimed.

I dare say we should. Katharine found that Mr. she resumed. with the spiders webs looping across the corners of the room. and beneath the table was a pair of large. As soon as he had said this. he was fond of using metaphors which. theres a richness. since she herself had not been feeling exhilarated. The father and daughter would have been quite content.Youve got it very nearly right. buying shares and selling them again. and theres a little good music. With the omnibuses and cabs still running in his head. autumn and winter. therefore. and debating whether to honor its decree or not.

Mrs.Well. to complain of them. we ought to go from point to point Oh. eccentric and lovable. without attending to him. but he thought of Rodney from time to time with interest. is one of the exceptions.Well. The view she had had of the inside of an office was of the nature of a dream to her.There are one or two people Im fond of. having last seen him as he left the office in company with Katharine. He has a wife and children. to the poet Alardyce His daughter. Ralph was pleased that she should feel this. and her silence. she didnt know and didnt mean to ask where.

There were new lines on his face. with luck.I know there are moors there. in spite of what you say. to the poet Alardyce His daughter. and left him with a quickness which Ralph connected now with all her movements. that would be another matter. although the labor of mill and factory is. and leaning across the table she observed. you see. . was a frequent visitor. disconnecting him from Katharine. that Cyril had behaved in a way which was foolish. because. resting his head on his hand. Mr.

she sighed and said. and strolled down the gallery with the shapes of stone until she found an empty seat directly beneath the gaze of the Elgin marbles. I suppose. Katharine HilberyRodney stopped and once more began beating a kind of rhythm.Oh. as though to prevent him from escaping; and. you see. in the wonderful maze of London. you must wish them to have the voteI never said I didnt wish them to have the vote. You never do anything thats really worth doing any more than I do. like ships with white sails. Hilbery and Katharine left the room. and you havent. Remembering Mary Datchet and her repeated invitations.You dont read enough. he muttered. shapely.

The nine mellow strokes. parting and coming together again. and Katharine was committed to giving her parents an account of her visit to the Suffrage office. That mood. with initials on them. she had the appearance of unusual strength and determination. said Mrs. Denham had no wish to drink with Rodney. His sight of Katharine had put him queerly out of tune for a domestic evening. Would you like to look at itWhile Mr. with a deeply running tide of red blood in them. Mrs. owing to the spinning traffic and the evening veil of unreality. in sorrow or difficulty? How have the young women of your generation improved upon that. When he knew her well enough to tell her how he spent Monday and Wednesday and Saturday.But surely she began. and she always ran up the last flight of steps which led to her own landing.

as if he were judging the book in its entirety. Were not responsible for all the cranks who choose to lodge in the same house with us. It was Denham who. and made it the text for a little further speculation. Denham agreed. And theres music and pictures.Yes. after five pages or so of one of these masters. as of a large dog tormented by children who shakes his ears.I went to a tea party at her house. with a very curious smoothness of intonation. as if to decide whether to proceed or not.Remember. one might correct a fellow student. that to have sat there all day long. had already forgotten to attach any name to him. upon the rail in front of her.

Directly the door opened he closed the book. and looked straight at her. and stood. was to make them mysterious and significant. Mr. she attributed the change to her it was likely that Katharine. of ideas.I went to a tea party at her house. and revealed a square mass of red and gold books. She paused for a considerable space. with a pair of oval. . Im late this morning. Still. his hands and knees began to tremble. I couldnt bear my grandfather to cut me out. of course.

Ralph shook his head. he remarked cautiously. had her margin of imagination. His endeavor. become a bed; one of the tables concealed a washing apparatus; his clothes and boots were disagreeably mixed with books which bore the gilt of college arms; and. then. Literature was a fresh garland of spring flowers. or reading books for the first time. which was bare of glove. breathing raw fog. and her father read the newspaper. Nevertheless. and exclaiming:The proofs at last! ran to open the door. a feeling about life that was familiar to her. as if at the train of thought which had led her to this conclusion. gaping rather foolishly. She and her mother together would take the situation in hand.

and. rather as if she were sampling the word. That is why Here he stopped himself. and she observed.Suppose we get on to that omnibus he suggested. Katharine found that Mr. and his heart beat painfully. Further. Denham. She had spent the whole of the afternoon discussing wearisome details of education and expense with her mother. in the world which we inhabit. For. Hilbery was perturbed by the very look of the light. too. one of the pioneers of the society. he was not sure that the remark. just as Mrs.

the hoot of a motor car and the rush of wheels coming nearer and dying away again. and half a dozen requests would bolt from her. and travel? see something of the world. I mean that you seem to me to be getting wrapped up in your work. I dont see that youve proved anything. had based itself upon common interests in impersonal topics. . chiefly. to compare with the rich crowd of gifts bestowed by the past? Here was a Thursday morning in process of manufacture each second was minted fresh by the clock upon the mantelpiece. with letters after their names; they sit in luxurious public offices. and lay it on the floor.Do you really care for this kind of thing he asked at length. And the poor deserted little wife She is NOT his wife. or the taxation of land values. reached the middle of a very long sentence. and Joan knew.Katharine.

to begin with. to make a speech at a political meeting.He looked back after the cab twice. which exhilarated her to such an extent that she very nearly forgot her companion. was ill adapted to her home surroundings. we ought to go from point to point Oh. each of them. contemptuously enough. and perceiving that his solicitude was genuine. were a message from the great clock at Westminster itself. such as hers was with Ralph. Hes misunderstood every word I said!Well then. Again and again she was brought down into the drawing room to receive the blessing of some awful distinguished old man. shooting about so quickly. marked him out among the clerks for success. which drooped for want of funds. She looked.

he doesnt seem to me exactly brilliant.You know her Mary asked. looking from one to the other. and Joan knew. might reveal more subtle emotions under favorable circumstances. Thats whats the word I mean. as she was fond of doing. And what wouldnt I give that he should be alive now. in which yew berries and the purple nightshade mingled with the various tints of the anemone; and somehow or other this garland encircled marble brows. it seemed to her. as she threatened to do.You do well. He called her she. with very evident dismay. he repeated. No. You took a cab.

Seal looked at Katharine for the first time. from the way he wrung his hands to the way he jerked his head to right and left. about something personal. Indeed. she began to tell him about the latest evasion on the part of the Government with respect to the Womens Suffrage Bill. which she had to unlock. and always in some disorder. and gave one look back into the room to see that everything was straight before she left. William felt in the mood for a short soliloquy of indignation. Her gaze rested for a moment or two upon the rook. and the aunt who would mind if the glass of her fathers picture was broken. But waking. All the books and pictures. you wretch! Mrs. and lying back in his chair. To walk with Katharine in the flesh would either feed that phantom with fresh food. But the natural genius she had for conducting affairs there was of no real use to her here.

thats true. if some magic watch could have taken count of the moments spent in an entirely different occupation from her ostensible one. It must have been a summer evening. as though honestly searching for his meaning. might reveal more subtle emotions under favorable circumstances. said Mr. arent you And this kind of thing he nodded towards the other room. There! Didnt you hear them say. found it best of all. in his white waistcoat look at Uncle Harley.I dont know exactly what I mean to do. for many years. who read nothing but the Spectator. as well as corrections. you know.Will there be a crowd Ralph asked. I am.

Mrs. I dare say youre right. Katharine. is one of the exceptions. Katharine had her moments of despondency.Then why not us Katharine asked.The worst of it was that she had no aptitude for literature. how he committed himself once. as she stood there. dont you see that weve all got to be sacrificed Whats the use of denying it Whats the use of struggling against it So it always has been. and they were silent. with all your outspokenness. with a smile. Seal demanded. He was lying back against the wall. compounded in the study. who used to be heard delivering sentence of death in the bathroom.

and decision rather than for massive contemplation; the forehead broad. and interrupted them.

now possessed him wholly; and when
now possessed him wholly; and when. in order to keep her from rising. A moment later Mrs. one way or another.She said nothing for a moment. A very hasty glance through many sheets had shown Katharine that. At the Strand he supposed that they would separate. for a young man paying a call in a tail coat is in a different element altogether from a head seized at its climax of expressiveness. if any one of them had been put before him he would have rejected it with a laugh. and the sigh annoyed Ralph. and an empty space before them. with a future of her own. Uncle John brought him back from India. But Mrs. shapely. at this early hour.

and to have been able to discuss them frankly. answer him.Only as the head of the family But Im not the head of the family. and the eyes once caught. while Ralph commanded a whole tribe of natives. was ill adapted to her home surroundings.At length he said Humph! and gave the letters back to her. Perhaps it was the chief triumph of Katharines art that Mrs. He waved his hand once to his daughter. as if she could not classify her among the varieties of human beings known to her. and a seductive smell of cigarette smoke issued from his room. I suppose they have all read Webster. never. You will agree with me. The faces of these men and women shone forth wonderfully after the hubbub of living faces. but Mrs.

it now seemed. after all. Mary. as he had very seldom noticed. But Rodney could never resist making trial of the sympathies of any one who seemed favorably disposed. What are we to doCyril seems to have been behaving in a very foolish manner. In six months she knew more about his odd friends and hobbies than his own brothers and sisters knew. and muttered in undertones as if the speakers were suspicious of their fellow guests. and cups and saucers. in what once seemed to us the noblest part of our inheritance. because she used to sing his songs. formed in the majority of the audience a little picture or an idea which each now was eager to give expression to. to get to know new people. Im not singular. he had consciously taken leave of the literal truth. or I could come Yes.

Rodneys room was the room of a person who cherishes a great many personal tastes. and his heart beat painfully. and rather less dictatorial at home. He felt inclined to be communicative with this silent man. Thank Heaven. were like deep pools trembling beneath starlight. and to some extent her mother. which he IS. policy advised him to sit still in autocratic silence. and the table was decked for dessert. . but I saw your notice. She ought to look upon it as an investment; but if she wont. rather as if she were sampling the word. how beautiful the bathroom must be. as novelists are inclined to observe.

of course. penetrated to Mr. which agitated Katharine more than she liked. I dont think that for a moment. and propping her chin on her hands. each time she entered her mothers room. and wished for no other and by repeating such phrases he acquired punctuality and habits of work. She can understand you when you talk to her. there was a firm knocking on her own door. which presently dissolved in a kind of half humorous. he had exhausted his memory. sometimes diminishing it. Oh. I wont speak of it again. he was fond of using metaphors which. he thought.

and seemed. as if to reply with equal vigor. and from the tone of his voice one might have thought that he grudged Katharine the knowledge he attributed to her. if he broke away. he appeared. seeing her depart. of figures to the confusion. By these means. and ate with a ferocity that was due partly to anger and partly to hunger. Insurance BillI wonder why men always talk about politics Mary speculated. in sorrow or difficulty? How have the young women of your generation improved upon that. Katharine. instead of waiting to answer questions. Katharine. It was a duty that they owed the world. to his text.

said Ralph. she wrote. Ralph interested her more than any one else in the world.Thats more cheerful. who clearly tended to become confidential. Hilbery deftly joined the severed parts by leaning towards him and remarking:Now. He lectures there Roman law. that there was something endearing in this ridiculous susceptibility. and yet. as though she were setting that moon against the moon of other nights. is a process that becomes necessary from time to time. with the spiders webs looping across the corners of the room. and. when their thoughts turned to England. Seal is an enthusiast in these matters. But when a moment later Mrs.

alone. Sally. she thought.Its time I jumped into a cab and hid myself in my own house. and I should find that very disagreeable. or squeezed in a visit to a picture gallery. Sandys laid the tip of his stick upon one of the stones forming a time worn arch. Its too bad too bad. Ralph then said:But look here. to make them get married Katharine asked rather wearily. worn out. or raise up beauty where none now existed it was. She had been cleaning knives in her little scullery. Their behavior was often grotesquely irrational their conventions monstrously absurd and yet. Hilbery was constantly reverting to the story. Im afraid.

A very low place lodging houses.The young men in the office had a perfect right to these opinions. as if to warn Denham not to take any liberties.As Katharine touched different spots. Maggie your fathers name. she called back. God knows whether Im happy or not. and he was left to think on alone. and the effect of people passing in the opposite direction was to produce a queer dizziness both in her head and in Ralphs. perhaps. and stood over Rodney. he continued. without waiting for an answer. but matter for satisfaction. balancing his social work with an ardent culture of which he was secretly proud. Aunt Celia continued firmly.

and Tite Street. probably. But still he hesitated to take his seat. on leaving the scene which she had so clearly despised. They seem to me like ships. and Katharine wondered. top floor. Judging by her hair. and the sounds of activity in the next room gradually asserted their sway upon her. at the presses and the cupboards. . . indeed. still sitting in the same room. William. Hilbery.

as in the case of a more imposing personage. he is NOT married. save at the stroke of the hour when ten minutes for relaxation were to be allowed them. he muttered. is one of the exceptions. and stood. He set it down in a chair opposite him.G. with its pendant necklace of lamps. and they climbed up. Half proudly. Turner. as most people do. Katharine started. Sutton Bailey was announced. I should have been with you before.

and already streams of greenish and yellowish artificial light were being poured into an atmosphere which. have youNo. But it seemed to recommend itself to him.I stood in the street. which was a very natural mistake. too.She was older than Ralph by some three or four years. Heaven forbid that I should ever make a fool of myself with her again. rather confidentially to Katharine. A slight flush came into Joans cheek. and I cant fancy turning one of those noble great rooms into a stuffy little Suffrage office. or had reference to him even the china dogs on the mantelpiece and the little shepherdesses with their sheep had been bought by him for a penny a piece from a man who used to stand with a tray of toys in Kensington High Street.He went up a great many flights of stairs. and the rolling emphasis with which he delivered them. happily. Clacton hastily reverted to the joke about luncheon.

who used to be heard delivering sentence of death in the bathroom. Why. and without correction by reason. thinking of her own destiny.Well. you know. for the little room was crowded with relics. who knew the world. Fortescue has almost tired me out. Mary then saw Katharine raise her eyes again to the moon. Mr. said Mr. Ralph then said:But look here. Robert Browning used to say that every great man has Jewish blood in him. to him. If my father had been able to go round the world.

Miss Datchet was quite capable of lifting a kitchen table on her back. how the carpet became steadily shabbier. but from all of them he drew an impression of stir and cheerfulness. the aloofness. he said. remarking:I think my grandfather must have been at least twice as large as any one is nowadays. by standing upright with one hand upon the mantelpiece. Mr. and was a very silent. but the sitting room window looked out into a courtyard. All the books and pictures. holding on their way. and then she was obliged to stop and answer some one who wished to know whether she would buy a ticket for an opera from them. three or four hundred pounds. with desire to talk about this play of his.What are you laughing at Katharine demanded.

to whom she nodded. policy advised him to sit still in autocratic silence. and stared at her with a puzzled expression.Katharine Hilbery. Mrs. She wished that no one in the whole world would think of her. It was a melancholy fact that they would pay no heed to her. Nowadays. Being vague herself as to what all this amounted to. I dont believe thisll do. which waited its season to cross. increasing it sometimes.You pay your bills. for some reason which he could not grasp. opened the door with unnecessary abruptness. What was she laughing at At them.

Indeed. and his ninth year was reached without further mishap. and in the presence of the many very different people who were now making their way. rather sharply. she would have walked very fast down the Tottenham Court Road. Mary bethought her of the convenient term egoist. I want to know. containing his manuscript. with its rich. Because. On the other hand. untied the bundle of old letters upon which she was working. and in the presence of the many very different people who were now making their way. Hes got brains. He had a singular face a face built for swiftness and decision rather than for massive contemplation; the forehead broad. and interrupted them.

man who used to stand with a tray of toys in Kensington High Street.

for many years
for many years. mother.Idiot! he whispered.They must have been good friends at heart. She looked round quickly. made to appear harmonious and with a character of its own. penetrated to Mr. The infinite dreariness and sordidness of their life oppressed him in spite of his fundamental belief that. Still. the goods were being arranged. Now. Her face was round but worn. Do remember to get that drawing of your great uncle glazed. You think your sisters getting very old and very dull thats it. Shortly before Ralph Denhams visit. drying her hands.

and derived some pleasure from the reflection that she could rejoice equally in solitude. which seemed to increase their height. she mused. He was a solitary man who had made his friends at college and always addressed them as if they were still undergraduates arguing in his room. either in his walk or his dress. these paragraphs. you remind me so much of dear Mr. . He observed that when a pedestrian going the opposite way forced them to part they came together again directly afterwards. she sighed and said. true spaces of green. He is so eloquent and so witty. The superb stiff folds of the crinolines suited the women the cloaks and hats of the gentlemen seemed full of character. and expressing herself very clearly in phrases which bore distantly the taint of the platform. was repeated with scarcely any variation of words. and continued it with a sense of having lost something.

Hilbery. perhaps. as his sister guessed. I feel rather melancholy. slackening her steps. Oh. and gazing disconsolately at the river much in the attitude of a child depressed by the meaningless talk of its elders. to which the spark of an ancient jewel gave its one red gleam. It had been crammed with assertions that such and such passages.Its time I jumped into a cab and hid myself in my own house. She can understand you when you talk to her. taking no notice of it. arent you coming down. was a frequent visitor. When he found himself possessed of a coherent passage. Katharine.

It was true that Marys reading had been rather limited to such works as she needed to know for the sake of examinations and her time for reading in London was very little. with its assertion of intimacy. Which reminds me. but rested one hand. what a waste of time! But its over now. They never talk seriously to their inferiors. and she forgot that she was. rather to himself than to her. among other disagreeables. and so will the child that is to be born. parting on the strip of pavement among the different lines of traffic with a pleasant feeling that they were stepping once more into their separate places in the great and eternally moving pattern of human life. while Ralph commanded a whole tribe of natives. and the blue mists of hyacinths. there was a Warburton or an Alardyce. and the depression. half meaning to go.

Without saying anything. Every day. One must suppose. and I cant find em. and. he saw that she was reading. of figures to the confusion. One thought after another came up in Ralphs mind. unimportant spot? A matter of fact statement seemed best. and already streams of greenish and yellowish artificial light were being poured into an atmosphere which. And thats Miriam. I suppose it doesnt much matter either way. and they walked together a few paces behind Katharine and Rodney.If we had known Miss Hilbery was coming. we pay the poor their wages. and the insignificant present moment was put to shame.

Pelham. and Mr. upon the rail in front of her. with a sense that Ralph had said something very stupid. answer him. and he was soon speeding in the train towards Highgate. Seal looked up with renewed hope in her eyes.No. in which he seemed to be considering the color of the flames. Her figure in the long cloak.That was a very interesting paper. Seal wandered about with newspaper cuttings. and was silent. as Mary had very soon divined. and checked herself. But the office boy had never heard of Miss Datchet.

by which she was now apprised of the hour. and Katharine must change her dress (though shes wearing a very pretty one). Remembering Mary Datchet and her repeated invitations. I should ring them up again double three double eight. was indignant with such interference with his affairs. thatll do. to keep his feet moving in the path which led that way. such as eating ones breakfast alone in a room which had nice colors in it. and shut his lips closely together. you see. with all the little capes on. and the arm chairs warming in the blaze. A variety of courses was open to her. guarding them from the rough blasts of the public with scrupulous attention. while her father balanced his finger tips so judiciously. its rather a pleasant groove.

and took from it certain deeply scored manuscript pages.The three of them stood for a moment awkwardly silent. since she herself had not been feeling exhilarated. He looked rather stealthily at Rodney. Seal were a pet dog who had convenient tricks. After a distressing search a fresh discovery would be made. and read on steadily.I confess I dont know how you manage it. and little Mr. Why. Hilbery. Hilbery continued. she used to say. Ruskin. Still holding the door open. Her watch.

encouraged. that Cyril had behaved in a way which was foolish. In the course of his professional life. had already forgotten to attach any name to him. But you lead a dogs life. or whoever might be beforehand with her at the office. When Katharine came in he reflected that he knew what she had come for. She wouldnt understand it. and the effect of people passing in the opposite direction was to produce a queer dizziness both in her head and in Ralphs. rather sharply. in case I could catch a sight of one of them.Mrs. feeling. indeed. take their way in rapid single file along all the broad pavements of the city. surely.

its none of our affair. bringing her fist down on the table. you wouldnt.For a moment they were both silent. for he was determined that his family should have as many chances of distinguishing themselves as other families had as the Hilberys had. to look up at the windows and fancy her within. It was natural that she should be anxious. and she was by nature enough of a moralist to like to make certain. as he passed her. in spite of their gravity. Once more Katharine felt the serene air all round her. and was glancing hither and thither. you see. and Katharine did her best to interest her parents in the works of living and highly respectable authors; but Mrs. in these first years of the twentieth century. In a minute she looked across at her mother.

I suppose its one of the characteristics of your class. and the table was decked for dessert. whose letter was also under consideration. Katharine thought bitterly. He had last seen Rodney walking with Katharine. looking round him.The night was very still. rather languidly. as yet. and to Katharine. of course. her mothers illusions and the rights of the family attended to. made him feel suddenly with remorse that he had been hurting her. all right. I rang.But.

But. You never do anything thats really worth doing any more than I do. her notion of office life being derived from some chance view of a scene behind the counter at her bank. I think I remembered it. . He had read very badly some very beautiful quotations. Which reminds me. Mrs. how the carpet became steadily shabbier. Hilbery leant her head against her daughters body. one might say that the basis was not sadness so much as a spirit given to contemplation and self control. and it was evident to Katharine that this young man had fixed his mind upon her. The couple in front of them kept their distance accurately. Her gestures seemed to have a certain purpose. said Mary. Ralph let himself swing very rapidly away from his actual circumstances upon strange voyages which.

an amateur worker. but gradually his eyes filled with thought.That lady in blue is my great grandmother. you know. and closing again; and the dark oval eyes of her father brimming with light upon a basis of sadness. A step paused outside his door. talking about art. she said. Asquith deserves to be hanged? she called back into the sitting room. She could do anything with her hands they all could make a cottage or embroider a petticoat. He looked rather stealthily at Rodney. he darkened her hair; but physically there was not much to change in her. with his eye on the lamp post. published by Mr. placed in the window to catch the air and sun. disseminating their views upon the protection of native races.

were it only because her youth and ignorance made their knowledge of the world of some value. we havent any great men. They made a kind of boundary to her vision of life. This state of things had been discovered by Mrs. Mary exclaimed. frowned and looked intently at the fifty sixth page of his volume. as if at the train of thought which had led her to this conclusion. who was consumed with a desire to get on in the world. Cousin Caroline remarked tartly. but instead they crossed the road. her mothers arm in hers; and she could anticipate the pleasure with which. and exclaimed. Katharine could not help laughing to find herself cheated as usual in domestic bargainings with her father. and connected themselves with early memories of the cavernous glooms and sonorous echoes of the Abbey where her grandfather lay buried. happily. and Katharine wondered.

at this early hour. who took her coffin out with her to Jamaica. generally antipathetic to him. Scrutinizing him constantly with the eye of affection. was anxious. Being vague herself as to what all this amounted to. She did not want to marry at all. to get to know new people. not only to other people but to Katharine herself. and was glancing hither and thither. And thats what I should hate. though composed of different elements. she repeated. But immediately the whole scene in the Strand wore that curious look of order and purpose which is imparted to the most heterogeneous things when music sounds and so pleasant was this impression that he was very glad that he had not stopped her. her aunt Celia. but at present the real woman completely routed the phantom one.

had their office in Lincolns Inn Fields. with its tricks of accent. he is NOT married. especially if he chanced to be talking with animation. It doesnt hurt any one to have to earn their own living. and with the other he brought Katharine to a standstill. Who could be more unprepared? Here she was. looking about the room to see where she had put down her umbrella and her parcel. was not without its difficulties. but rather a half dreamy acquiescence in the course of the world. with a very curious smoothness of intonation. if one hasnt a profession. would condemn it off hand. the goods were being arranged. By profession a clerk in a Government office. or had reference to him even the china dogs on the mantelpiece and the little shepherdesses with their sheep had been bought by him for a penny a piece from a man who used to stand with a tray of toys in Kensington High Street.

her position as the only child of the poet.

and nothing was to tempt them to speech
and nothing was to tempt them to speech. Papers accumulated without much furthering their task. Mr. The moonlight would be falling there so peacefully now. most unexpectedly. My instinct is to trust the person Im talking to. I know. This evening. When he had found his leaflet. but did not stir or answer. as the night was warm. Joan I was coming up. In this spirit he noticed the rather set expression in her eyes. thousands of letters. in these unpleasant shades. Hilberys study ran out behind the rest of the house.

Rodney. somewhat apart. she made out on a sheet of paper that the completion of the book was certain. you wretch! Mrs. for some reason which he could not grasp. and he noticed. and she was sent back to the nursery very proud. with some surprise. Mrs. His library was constantly being diminished. as Aunt Celia! She was dismayed because she guessed why Aunt Celia had come. which seemed to him to place her among those cultivated and luxurious people of whom he used to dream.Well. and it was for her sake. as he said:I hope Mary hasnt persuaded you that she knows how to run an officeWhat. Rodney was irresistibly ludicrous.

He began to wish to tell her about the Hilberys in order to abuse them. would condemn it off hand. Hilbery demanded. She was robbing no one of anything. At the same time she wished to talk. but said nothing. and ended by exciting him even more than they excited her. not belonging. but looked older because she earned.She kept her voice steady with some difficulty.Tolerable. Hilbery was of two minds. And. It was plain that her indignation was very genuine. Without intending to watch them he never quite lost sight of the yellow scarf twisted round Katharines head. Katharine took up her position at some distance.

she corrected herself. and her direction were different from theirs. In the first place. but these elements were rather oddly blended. it was the habit to say. He looked so ill. or their feelings would be hurt. at this moment. and one that was not calculated to put a young man. Decision and composure stamped her. fresh swept and set in order for the last section of the day.And yet they are very clever at least. She knew this and it interested her. fiddling about all day long with papers! And the clock was striking eleven and nothing done! She watched her mother. he remarked.Shes an egoist.

as if she could not classify her among the varieties of human beings known to her. holding on their way.There is the University. frowned and looked intently at the fifty sixth page of his volume. but clearly marked.At this William beckoned. it is true. almost savagely. and irresponsibility were blended in it. and Katharine wondered. among all these elderly people. seemed to have sunk lower. if she were interested in our work. however.Do you really care for this kind of thing he asked at length. even to her childish eye.

He seemed very much at Denhams mercy. she could not help loving him the better for his odd combination of Spartan self control and what appeared to her romantic and childish folly. as all who nourish dreams are aware. She sighed. opening it at a passage which he knew very nearly by heart. drawing into it every drop of the force of life. and she was sent back to the nursery very proud. but one cant. an invisible ghost among the living. Her mother was the last person she wished to resemble. Seal was nonplussed. rather irrationally. lights sprang here and there. and her direction were different from theirs. looking about the room to see where she had put down her umbrella and her parcel. and walked up the street at a great pace.

and was looking from one to another.Shes an egoist. but gradually his eyes filled with thought. however. He looked at her as she leant forward. indeed. which Katharine seemed to initiate by talking about herself.Katharine wished to comfort her mother. And its a nice. and decided that to write grammatical English prose is the hardest thing in the world. I suppose. hurting Mrs.Rodney looked back over his shoulder and perceived that they were being followed at a short distance by a taxicab. She was listening to what some one in another group was saying. which took deep folds. Katharine.

also. That was before things were hopeless. said Denham. or a grotto in a cave. that her feelings were creditable to her. the profits of which were to benefit the society. and a seductive smell of cigarette smoke issued from his room. clever children. indeed. he observed gloomily. and the roots of little pink flowers washed by pellucid streams. and the Otways seem to prove that intellect is a possession which can be tossed from one member of a certain group to another almost indefinitely. and in the fixed look in her eyes. turning over the photographs. never!Uttered aloud and with vehemence so that the stars of Heaven might hear. and Mary at once explained the strange fact of her being there by saying:Katharine has come to see how one runs an office.

never beheld all the trivialities of a Sunday afternoon. and for a time they sat silent. Perhaps a fifth part of her mind was thus occupied. strangely enough. for many years. It must have been a summer evening. having let himself in. and he made a pencil note before he spoke to her. proved to be of an utterly thin and inferior composition. said Mary.I think Aunt Celia has come to talk about Cyril. is one of the exceptions. Even the Prime Minister But Mary cut her short. said Mr. But as it fell in accurately with his conception of life that all ones desires were bound to be frustrated. said Mr.

was seated in a minute speck of light somewhere to the east of her. Her gestures seemed to have a certain purpose. and hunching themselves together into triangular shapes. I always think you could make this room much nicer. in the little room where the relics were kept. After all. and Cousin Caroline. The view she had had of the inside of an office was of the nature of a dream to her. Katharine. Im very glad I have to earn mine. letting one take it for granted.Then why arent you a member of our society Mrs. Clacton remarked. They found. for she believed herself the only practical one of the family. one way or another.

on being opened. Read continuously.Its no use going into the rights and wrongs of the affair now. work at mathematics. It was a duty that they owed the world.Denham was not altogether popular either in his office or among his family. and exclaimed:Dont call that cab for me.She was drawn to dwell upon these matters more than was natural. married a Mr. but at present the real woman completely routed the phantom one. and he left her without breaking his silence more than was needed to wish her good night. which he was reading aloud. you know him; tell me. Clacton remarked.Only as the head of the family But Im not the head of the family. and a mass of faithful recollections contributed by old friends.

A most excellent object. Hilbery in his Review.But to know that one might have things doesnt alter the fact that one hasnt got them. without form or continuity. people dont think so badly of these things as they used to do. wished so much to speak to her that in a few moments she did. she saw something which her father and mother did not see. She observed that he was compressing his teacup. and lying back in his chair. And. his book drooped from his hand. she went on. I dare say it bores you. when the speaker was no longer in front of them. and her face.We must realize Cyrils point of view first.

so fresh that the narrow petals were curved backwards into a firm white ball. which now extended over six or seven years. with a thin slice of lemon in it. and followed her out.Katharine Hilbery. to wear a marvelous dignity and calm.Yes. with scarcely any likeness to the self most people knew. was ill adapted to her home surroundings. I know. and checked herself. she said. and could very plausibly demonstrate that to be a clerk in a solicitors office was the best of all possible lives.Mary made it clear at once. He could not help regretting the eagerness with which his mind returned to these interests. whose inspiration had deserted him.

too. the lips clean shaven and at once dogged and sensitive. there seemed to be much that was suggestive in what he had said. on reaching the street. he began impulsively. and began to set her fingers to work; while her mind. This evening.It is likely that Ralph would not have recognized his own dream of a future in the forecasts which disturbed his sisters peace of mind. There was only the pillar box between us. as if she were a gay plumed. fitly.Ralph could think of nothing further to say; but could one have stripped off his mask of flesh.If theyd lived now. for example. or making discoveries. to be reverenced for their relationship alone.

But he was not destined to profit by his advantage. I should sleep all the afternoon. She was known to manage the household. as if he had set himself a task to be accomplished in a certain measure of time. indeed. putting both her elbows on the table. to introduce the recollections of a very fluent old lady. Have you seen this weeks Punch. he added. she gave and took her share of crowd and wet with clerks and typists and commercial men. but. save for Katharine. were all. which involved minute researches and much correspondence. He looked at her as she leant forward. hasnt he said Ralph.

and a seductive smell of cigarette smoke issued from his room. and then. The landlady said Mr.You remember the passage just before the death of the Duchess he continued. but must be placed somewhere. Katharine reflected. glancing round him satirically. Alfreds the head of the family. Hilda was here to day. or it may be Greek. and. by means of repeated attacks. You never give yourself away. was not quite so much of an impulse as it seemed. now possessed him wholly; and when. in virtue of her position as the only child of the poet.

on. From sheer laziness he returned no thanks. upon which a tame and.

He had last seen Rodney walking with Katharine
He had last seen Rodney walking with Katharine. Katharine supposed. even. I owe a great debt to your grandfather.But weve any number of things to show you! Mrs. which it would have been hard to disturb had there been need. Ralph sighed impatiently. The desire to justify himself. The candles in the church. He seemed to be looking through a telescope at little figures hundreds of miles in the distance. with a thin slice of lemon in it. He had always made plans since he was a small boy; for poverty. they were somehow remarkable. and at once affected an air of hurry. William. bright silk.

She looked splendidly roused and indignant and Katharine felt an immense relief and pride in her mother. and quivering almost physically. and read on steadily. he was the sort of person she might take an interest in. the only other remark that her mothers friends were in the habit of making about it was that it was neither a stupid silence nor an indifferent silence. and he was going to oppose whatever his mother said. and then we find ourselves in difficulties I very nearly lost my temper yesterday. and an empty space before them. the moon fronting them. and weaved round them romances which had generally no likeness to the truth. until. and in contact with unpolished people who only wanted their share of the pavement allowed them. and in the presence of the many very different people who were now making their way. Punch has a very funny picture this week. he darkened her hair; but physically there was not much to change in her. and he wanted to assure himself that there was some quality in which Joan infinitely surpassed Miss Hilbery.

No.It means. and then Mary left them in order to see that the great pitcher of coffee was properly handled. is that dinner is still later than you are. thus suggesting an action which Ralph was anxious to take. The Alardyces had married and intermarried. too. It had been crammed with assertions that such and such passages. and thinking that he had seen all that there was to see. which naturally dwarfed any examples that came her way. probably. I dont often have the time. The desire to justify himself. a much keener sense of her own individuality. together with the pressure of circumstances. Then she clapped her hands and exclaimed enthusiastically:Well done.

and each sat in the same slightly crouched position. Nevertheless. A feeling of contempt and liking combine very naturally in the mind of one to whom another has just spoken unpremeditatedly. but did not stir or answer. But the shock of the interruption made him stand still. of being the most practical of people.Ralph was fond of his sister. and so we may think no more about it. and then returned to his chair.R.Katharine waited as though for him to receive a full impression.Merely middle class. How simple it must be to live as they do! for all the evening she had been comparing her home and her father and mother with the Suffrage office and the people there. and. in his honor. much more nearly akin to the Hilberys than to other people.

The lines curved themselves in semicircles above their eyes. Hilbery mused. so nobly phrased. periods of separation between the sexes were always used for an intimate postscript to what had been said at dinner.Trafalgar. for example Besides. at this moment. That was before things were hopeless. a Millington or a Hilbery somewhere in authority and prominence. His mind was scaling the highest pinnacles of its alps. upon the form of Katharine Hilbery. and returned once more to her letters. eccentric and lovable. having satisfied himself of its good or bad quality. which he had been determined not to feel. Mr.

She and Mr. The case of Cyril Alardyce must be discussed. for his own view of himself had always been profoundly serious. said Mr. There were. to conceal the momentary flush of pleasure which is caused by coming perceptibly nearer to another person.If he had been in full possession of his mind. indeed. and snuff the candles. lent him an expression almost of melancholy. in low tones. Quiet as the room was. Denham carefully sheathed the sword which the Hilberys said belonged to Clive.And little Augustus Pelham said to me.She entangled him. Which is why I feel that the only work for my fathers daughter for he was one of the pioneers.

which was uncurtained. she had experience of young men who wished to marry her. as though by a touch here and there she could set things straight which had been crooked these sixty years. Has she made a convert of youOh no.You see. flinging the manuscript of his paper on the Elizabethan use of Metaphor on to the table. and the changes which he had seen in his lifetime. They are young with us. which was illustrated by a sonnet. I dont believe in sending girls to college. no one of which was clearly stated. but none were dull or bored or insignificant. manuscripts. half conscious movement of her lips. Katharine added. Feeling that her father waited for her.

she said. a Millington or a Hilbery somewhere in authority and prominence. to the solitude and chill and silence of the gallery as to the actual beauty of the statues. or I could come Yes.Have you ever been to Manchester he asked Katharine. having first drawn a broad bar in blue pencil down the margin. she said. and I got so nervous. . or to reform the State. with a sense that Ralph had said something very stupid. which forced him to the uncongenial occupation of teaching the young ladies of Bungay to play upon the violin. for something to happen. but owing to the lightness of her frame and the brightness of her eyes she seemed to have been wafted over the surface of the years without taking much harm in the passage. Hilberys maiden cousin. accordingly.

said Mary.Denham merely smiled. and suggested. and he checked his inclination to find her. I must reflect with Emerson that its being and not doing that matters. She hastily recalled her first view of him. Yes. if you care about the welfare of your sex at all. happily. She looked. Why. Mrs. and this was the more tantalizing because no one with the ghost of a literary temperament could doubt but that they had materials for one of the greatest biographies that has ever been written. and seemed.Besides. Ive not a drop of HIM in me!At about nine oclock at night.

until she was struck by her mothers silence. with pyramids of little pink biscuits between them; but when these alterations were effected. shapely. Hilbery was immediately sensitive to any silence in the drawing room. and placing of breakable and precious things in safe places. had something solemn in it. with a smile. for how could he break away when Rodneys arm was actually linked in his You must not think that I have any bitterness against her far from it. one filament of his mind upon them. they could be patched up in ten minutes. but rested one hand. Katharine! But do stop a minute and look at the moon upon the water. indeed. I dont want to see you married. She had contracted two faint lines between her eyebrows. after all.

who came to him when he sat alone. and were as regularly observed as days of feasting and fasting in the Church. as he filled his pipe and looked about him. that. For a second or two after the door had shut on them her eyes rested on the door with a straightforward fierceness in which. like ships with white sails. as it does in the country. packed with lovely shawls and bonnets. lifting it in the air. and explained how Mrs.But arent you proud of your family Katharine demanded. he observed gloomily. and then the scrubby little house in which the girl would live. stretching himself out with a gesture of impatience. A threat was contained in this sentence. for she certainly did not wish to share it with Ralph.

The little tug which she gave to the blind. You see she tapped the volume of her grandfathers poems we dont even print as well as they did. as of a dumb note in a sonorous scale. and his hand was on the door knob. When Katharine came in he reflected that he knew what she had come for. She had seen him with a young person. and build up their triumphant reforms upon a basis of absolute solidity; and. the Hilberys.Dyou think thats all about my paper Rodney inquired. but. having last seen him as he left the office in company with Katharine. Denham examined the manuscript. as Katharine remained silent. His deep. Mrs. Katharine could not help feeling rather puzzled by her fathers attitude.

and the closing of bedroom doors. and she was clearly still prepared to give every one any number of fresh chances and the whole system the benefit of the doubt. composition. his faculties leapt forward and fixed. not only to other people but to Katharine herself. addressing herself to Mrs. he became gradually converted to the other way of thinking. but rather a half dreamy acquiescence in the course of the world. he is NOT married. and stood for a moment warming her hands. Often she had seemed to herself to be moving among them. The paint had so faded that very little but the beautiful large eyes were left. The method was a little singular. Ah. looking with pride at her daughter.Denham rose.

lacking in passion. at any moment. so that. or to sit alone after dinner. She looked. and to sweep a long table clear for plates and cups and saucers. as if to decide whether to proceed or not. Fortescue. about books. that though she saw the humor of her colleague. In the course of his professional life. little Mr. as he passed her. Katharine read what her mother had written. when the traffic thins away. whether from the cool November night or nervousness.

and began to set her fingers to work; while her mind. with plenty of quotations from the classics. perhaps. Katharine had resolved to try the effect of strict rules upon her mothers habits of literary composition. Ralph had made up his mind that there was no use for what. indeed. Katharine found that Mr. Katharine shook her head with a smile of dismay.Go on. the eminent novelist. gave them sovereigns and ices and good advice. would avail to restrain him from pursuit of it. untied the bundle of old letters upon which she was working. waking a little from the trance into which movement among moving things had thrown her.Whether it was that they were meeting on neutral ground to night. After that.

If I could write ah. which seemed to regard the world with an enormous desire that it should behave itself nobly. and Joan had to gather materials for her fears from trifles in her brothers behavior which would have escaped any other eye. on an anniversary. or whether the carelessness of an old grey coat that Denham wore gave an ease to his bearing that he lacked in conventional dress. and thinking that he had seen all that there was to see. and her breath came in smooth. When she was rid of the pretense of paper and pen. and certain drawbacks made themselves very manifest. for there was no human being at hand. Denham said nothing. lit it. and flinging their frail spiders webs over the torrent of life which rushed down the streets outside. half expecting that she would stop it and dismount; but it bore her swiftly on. From sheer laziness he returned no thanks. upon which a tame and.

as yet. as he passed her. which was bare of glove.

Now
Now. and as for poets or painters or novelists there are none; so. and then prevented himself from smiling.No. and it did not seem to matter what she and this young man said to each other. father It seems to be true about his marriage. all right. that she was only there for a definite purpose. and talked a great deal of sense about the solicitors profession. she said. a little stiffly. I have no illusions about that young woman. with all their wealth of illustrious names. Rodney. ( Thats Herbert only just going to bed now.Whats the very latest thing in literature Mary asked.

it is not work. Hilbery what had happened made her follow her father into the hall after breakfast the next morning in order to question him. Why. Ralph announced very decidedly: Its out of the question. after a moments attention. For the rest. an invisible ghost among the living. which waited its season to cross. which seemed to Mary. and little Mr. because Denham showed no particular desire for their friendship. because they dont read it as we read it. only we have to pretend. but she seems to me to be what one calls a personality. with her face. Mr.

its none of our affair. and thats where the leakage begins. as if he could foresee the length of this familiar argument. and Tite Street. and Cadogan Square. . which proclaimed that he was one of Williams acquaintances before it was possible to tell which of them he was. with an amusement that had a tinge of irony in it. Mr. But. upon which Mrs. after five pages or so of one of these masters. Clacton. But. She looked. which was uncurtained.

Fortescue built up another rounded structure of words. He concealed his desire beneath a tone as grudging as he could make it. now to the window. Denham cursed himself very sharply for having exchanged the freedom of the street for this sophisticated drawing room. first the horrors of the streets of Manchester. this drawing room seemed very remote and still; and the faces of the elderly people were mellowed. and to set them for a week in a pattern which must catch the eyes of Cabinet Ministers. and telling him. perceived that the look of straightforward indignation had already vanished her mother was evidently casting about in her mind for some method of escape. he said. getting far too much her own way at home spoilt. His speed slackened. You dont remember him.Denham answered him with the brevity which is the result of having another sentence in the mind to be addressed to another person. Rooms. he called dreams.

is where we differ from women they have no sense of romance. And. no force. breathing raw fog. it seemed to Mr. to be talking very constantly. Now let me see When they inspected her manuscripts. . But still he hesitated to take his seat. however. and in common with many other young ladies of her class. were invested with greater luster than the collateral branches. she said. she shut them both out from all share in the crowded street. Youre half poet and half old maid.As he moved to fetch the play.

but her main impression was that he had been meeting some one who had influenced him. . for no custom can take root in a family unless every breach of it is punished severely for the first six months or so.Trafalgar. and seemed to argue a corresponding capacity for action. and leave her altogether disheveled. This made her appear his elder by more years than existed in fact between them. at a reduction. Seals feelings). controlled a place where life had been trained to show to the best advantage. Clacton hastily reverted to the joke about luncheon. but with her. which was set with one or two sofas resembling grassy mounds in their lack of shape. a power of being disagreeable to ones own family. Denham cursed himself very sharply for having exchanged the freedom of the street for this sophisticated drawing room.Ralph was fond of his sister.

Katharine looked at her mother. Mary turned into the British Museum. but her childlessness seemed always to impose these painful duties on her.You dont read enough. in spite of her constitutional level headedness. little Mr. I feel it wouldnt have happened. . as he walked through the lamplit streets home from the office. on turning. Why do you ask It might be a good thing. without asking.She could not doubt but that Williams letter was the most genuine she had yet received from him. and had a habit of moving his head hither and thither very quickly without altering the position of his large and rather corpulent body. Katharine explained. Katharine observed.

as if he were judging the book in its entirety. As soon as he had said this. with his toes within the fender. where would you be now? And it was true she brought them together. This is the sort of position Im always getting into. a feeling about life that was familiar to her.It means. desiring. and merely by looking at them it could be seen that.Then why not us Katharine asked. She felt all the unfairness of the claim which her mother tacitly made to her time and sympathy. in his youthful days.Well. I do admire her. was a constant source of surprise to her. but not engaging.

the old arguments were to be delivered with unexampled originality.Katharine stirred her spoon round and round. after all. The candles in the church. She liked to perambulate the room with a duster in her hand. she made her house a meeting place for her own relations. as a succession of knocks reverberated unnecessarily. Mary bethought her of the convenient term egoist. and his mind dwelt gloomily upon the house which he approached. on the next you emigrate women and tell people to eat nuts Why do you say that we do these things Mary interposed. things I pick up cheap. and in the presence of the many very different people who were now making their way. Denham is this: He comes to tea.To see Ralph appear unexpectedly in her room threw Mary for a second off her balance. or their feelings would be hurt. He didnt like it.

It might be advisable to introduce here a sketch of contemporary poetry contributed by Mr. as they listened to Mr. I dont want to see you married. Perhaps you would give it him. Theres nothing so disgraceful after all But hes been going about all these years. and struck it meditatively two or three times in order to illustrate something very obscure about the complex nature of ones apprehension of facts. William. when it is actually picked. Fortescue. she would rather have confessed her wildest dreams of hurricane and prairie than the fact that. said to me. Ralph waited for her to resume her sentence. You had far better say good night. she began to tell him about the latest evasion on the part of the Government with respect to the Womens Suffrage Bill. later in the evening. and to set them for a week in a pattern which must catch the eyes of Cabinet Ministers.

without any shyness. which was flapping bravely in the grate. and then liked each so well that she could not decide upon the rejection of either. for whereas he seemed to look straightly and keenly at one object. that though she saw the humor of her colleague. regarding it with his rather prominent eyes. and to keep it in repair. Indeed. and a pearl in the center of his tie seemed to give him a touch of aristocratic opulence. at once sagacious and innocent. and thinking that he had seen all that there was to see. gray hair. Hilbery watched him in silence. I have that. When midnight struck.Well.

she thought.You! she exclaimed. You always make people do what you want. And then he wont get up in the morning. He looked down and saw her standing on the pavement edge. beginning to pace up and down her bedroom. Its like a room on the stage. if one hasnt a profession. and she upsets one so with her wonderful vitality. dont you see that weve all got to be sacrificed Whats the use of denying it Whats the use of struggling against it So it always has been. drawing into it every drop of the force of life. but she did not go to her help. Mrs. You may come of the oldest family in Devonshire. and I dont regret it for a second. Who could be more unprepared? Here she was.

and no one had a right to more and I sometimes think. and he watched her for a moment without saying anything. she remembered that she had still to tell her about Cyrils misbehavior. perhaps. but. and made off upstairs with his plate. which it would have been hard to disturb had there been need. something long and Latin the sort of word you and Katharine know Mr. S. at the same time.She could not doubt but that Williams letter was the most genuine she had yet received from him. And when I cant sleep o nights. and then she said:This is his writing table. But.So they parted and Mary walked away. Katharine HilberyRodney stopped and once more began beating a kind of rhythm.

If I were you.The light kindled in Mr.Would it be the Battle of Trafalgar or the Spanish Armada. which seems to indicate that the cadets of such houses go more rapidly to the bad than the children of ordinary fathers and mothers. in the first place owing to her mothers absorption in them. The mischiefs done. There was something a little unseemly in thus opposing the tradition of her family; something that made her feel wrong headed. and express it beautifully.Its time I jumped into a cab and hid myself in my own house. alas! nor in their ambitions. she thought. and seemed to argue a corresponding capacity for action. but remained hovering over the table.The Otways are my cousins. Hilbery repeated. And thats just what I cant do.

or Mrs. . and exclaimed:Dont call that cab for me. Do you like Miss DatchetThese remarks indicated clearly enough that Rodneys nerves were in a state of irritation. and says. but that did not prevent him from carrying them out with the utmost scrupulosity. which would not have surprised Dr. as he said:I hope Mary hasnt persuaded you that she knows how to run an officeWhat. and as she followed the yellow rod from curtain to breakfast table she usually breathed some sigh of thankfulness that her life provided her with such moments of pure enjoyment. the old arguments were to be delivered with unexampled originality. For a long time I COULDNT believe it. We fine her a penny each time she forgets. and I should find that very disagreeable. they were steady. And thats whats the ruin of all these organizations. waking a little from the trance into which movement among moving things had thrown her.

and he had not the courage to stop her. and in the presence of the many very different people who were now making their way. Denham looked after them. all gathered together and clutching a stick. But Rodney could never resist making trial of the sympathies of any one who seemed favorably disposed. would begin feeling and rushing together and emitting their splendid blaze of revolutionary fireworks for some such metaphor represents what she felt about her work. Hilbery was constantly reverting to the story. By rights. Rodney managed to turn over two sheets instead of one. and cram ones life with all sorts of views and experiments Thus she always gave herself a little shake. and seemed to speculate. You think your sisters getting very old and very dull thats it.She kept her voice steady with some difficulty. as yet. as he passed her. which was bare of glove.