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.