AT
THE
RELTON
ARMS
BY
EVELYN
SHARP
BOSTON
:
ROBERTS
BROS.
,
1895
LONDON
:
JOHN
LANE
,
VIGO
ST.
Copyright
,
1895
,
By
Roberts
Brothers
.
University
Press
.
John
Wilson
and
Son
,
Cambridge
U
.
S.
A
.
CHAPTER
I
.
It
was
towards
the
end
of
a
crowded
reception
in
the
musician
's
studio
.
Most
of
the
people
who
had
come
from
a
sense
of
social
obligation
,
and
they
were
chiefly
the
mothers
of
his
fashionable
pupils
,
had
left
when
the
musician
began
to
play
his
own
compositions
;
and
those
who
remained
behind
,
and
occupied
the
position
of
the
Greek
chorus
with
regard
to
his
remarks
,
were
his
own
chosen
disciples
,
who
were
of
course
privileged
to
stay
much
longer
than
ordinary
acquaintances
.
The
musician
,
perhaps
,
had
no
effectual
means
of
suggesting
their
departure
;
but
neither
was
their
homage
,
being
very
womanly
and
obvious
,
unpleasing
to
him
;
and
when
the
well-dressed
Philistines
had
driven
away
in
their
carriages
,
he
abandoned
the
attitude
of
the
debonair
host
and
took
up
that
of
the
prophet
instead
,
which
at
once
gave
a
serious
turn
to
the
conversation
.
He
then
propounded
his
own
theories
,
or
somebody
else
's
,
at
great
length
,
and
the
chorus
assented
with
a
gentle
murmur
of
approbation
whenever
there
was
a
pause
.
Occasionally
one
of
the
elect
would
ask
for
some
music
,
and
the
musician
would
single
out
a
pupil
whom
he
considered
qualified
to
interpret
what
he
had
composed
;
and
in
the
applause
which
invariably
followed
,
the
performer
would
be
entirely
eclipsed
by
the
greater
importance
of
what
she
had
performed
.
"
Is
n't
it
a
beautiful
thing
?
Such
depth
,
"
said
Mrs.
Reginald
Routh
,
moving
away
from
the
piano
where
she
had
just
been
singing
the
musician
's
last
song
.
It
was
an
uncomfortable
habit
she
had
of
always
anticipating
what
the
other
people
would
have
said
if
she
had
only
given
them
time
to
speak
;
and
she
had
acquired
it
from
living
many
years
with
an
unmusical
though
wealthy
husband
,
who
only
acknowledged
his
wife
's
musical
talents
by
sending
large
checks
annually
to
the
musician
.
On
this
occasion
she
caught
the
eye
of
some
one
who
had
just
arrived
,
and
repeated
her
remark
emphatically
;
for
the
new-comer
was
a
stranger
who
had
unscrupulously
interrupted
the
last
verse
of
her
song
,
and
was
now
absorbed
in
prolonging
the
existence
of
a
modicum
of
bitter
tea
,
one
sugar-plum
,
and
a
preserved
cherry
.
"
Is
it
?
"
she
answered
hastily
,
seeing
she
was
expected
to
say
something
.
"
I
suppose
it
is
quite
good
,
of
course
.
Who
is
it
by
?
I
suppose
you
ca
n't
say
,
though
,
without
looking
;
and
I
have
n't
really
the
least
desire
to
know
.
Talking
of
music
,
"
she
continued
blandly
,
chasing
the
sugar-plum
round
the
saucer
,
"
I
have
really
had
a
treat
this
afternoon
at
St.
James
's
Hall
.
Of
course
you
have
often
heard
Sapolienski
?
Do
n't
ask
me
how
to
pronounce
him
;
I
think
another
of
the
horrors
added
to
modern
composers
is
the
length
of
their
names
.
But
I
'm
ashamed
to
say
I
have
never
heard
him
before
;
I
have
been
abroad
,
you
see
,
and
I
am
not
a
bit
musical
either
.
I
enjoyed
it
much
more
than
I
expected
though
,
and
you
should
have
seen
the
ovation
he
received
at
the
end
,
ladies
crowding
on
to
the
platform
and
throwing
their
rings
at
him
!
Oh
,
no
,
I
am
clearly
not
musical
.
But
still
,
as
he
is
the
greatest
musician
of
the
day
...
.
"
Here
Mrs.
Reginald
Routh
found
her
opportunity
,
and
used
it
.
"
Oh
,
indeed
?
I
have
never
heard
of
a
player
of
that
name
,
but
really
there
are
so
many
third-rate
'
eskis
'
now
that
we
cannot
be
expected
to
know
them
all
.
I
dislike
all
kinds
of
sentimental
effusion
,
and
society
lions
,
especially
when
they
are
musical
ones
,
are
singularly
unpleasing
to
me
.
There
can
be
no
flattery
where
true
genius
exists
,
and
if
we
were
to
reserve
our
praise
for
real
hidden
talent
,
"
she
paused
as
the
musician
came
within
hearing
and
repeated
her
last
words
in
a
louder
tone
,
"
real
hidden
talent
,
music
would
at
last
find
her
rightful
place
of
honor
among
us
.
Do
you
not
think
so
,
Mr.
Digby
?
"
Mrs.
Reginald
maintained
a
superb
air
of
possession
over
music
by
making
it
always
of
the
feminine
gender
,
just
as
she
did
over
the
musician
by
calling
him
by
his
first
name
.
Mr.
Digby
Raleigh
,
thus
intercepted
in
his
passage
across
the
room
,
turned
on
his
heel
and
ran
his
fingers
through
his
hair
as
he
launched
out
on
his
favorite
theme
with
enthusiasm
.
For
besides
being
an
interesting
musician
with
a
studio
in
the
West
End
,
he
had
views
on
metaphysics
and
Socialism
as
well
,
and
although
his
warm
discussions
of
these
and
other
modern
subjects
conveyed
little
but
confused
notions
to
the
minds
of
his
feminine
hearers
,
yet
his
enthusiasm
only
lent
him
a
more
potent
charm
in
their
eyes
.
"
Not
yet
,
Mrs.
Routh
,
no
,
no
,
not
yet
,
"
he
exclaimed
earnestly
,
"
we
are
not
ready
,
not
fit
for
it
yet
.
Socialism
has
to
come
first
;
the
people
must
be
taught
the
meaning
of
life
and
humanity
before
they
can
be
made
ready
for
music
.
Music
is
the
end
and
aim
of
every
intelligent
Socialist
.
The
people
must
suffer
first
,
as
we
have
all
had
to
suffer
,
we
who
do
understand
and
are
waiting
for
the
light
which
cannot
shine
because
of
the
materialists
who
do
not
even
feel
the
need
of
it
.
Life
is
a
problem
,
but
we
at
least
are
happiest
who
see
that
it
is
so
,
and
seek
for
the
solution
with
our
—
with
our
heart
's
blood
.
"
The
end
was
not
quite
so
eloquent
as
the
beginning
of
his
speech
,
but
the
musician
had
also
caught
the
eye
of
the
latest
comer
as
she
stirred
the
grounds
of
her
tea
mechanically
and
looked
across
the
room
at
him
,
and
he
became
suddenly
conscious
that
there
was
somebody
in
the
room
who
was
actually
inclined
to
laugh
at
him
.
So
he
stumbled
slightly
over
his
last
words
,
and
blushed
a
little
at
his
own
emotion
;
but
the
other
ladies
were
glancing
at
one
another
with
much
sympathy
as
if
to
show
that
they
thoroughly
understood
all
he
meant
and
felt
,
and
they
evidently
expected
some
more
to
follow
.
So
he
ran
his
fingers
through
his
hair
again
,
and
looked
at
Mrs.
Reginald
Routh
,
and
tried
to
forget
the
gray-eyed
girl
in
the
warmth
of
his
cause
.
"
It
is
not
Parliamentary
reform
,
it
is
not
any
revolution
,
or
series
of
revolutions
,
that
will
bring
Socialism
.
It
is
we
ourselves
who
must
give
it
birth
after
much
pain
and
sorrow
,
even
as
a
mother
—
"
here
the
exclusive
nature
of
the
audience
struck
him
,
and
he
paused
abruptly
,
until
he
remembered
that
he
was
a
prophet
,
and
might
use
any
questionable
metaphor
he
pleased
without
impropriety
—
"
even
as
a
mother
brings
forth
the
child
who
is
to
become
her
joy
and
her
comfort
.
It
is
the
spirit
of
altruism
that
has
to
be
diffused
among
us
,
and
when
we
have
once
realized
that
the
'
will
to
live
'
as
Schopenhauer
puts
it
,
is
the
one
to
be
controlled
,
and
that
the
finest
of
all
things
is
to
die
,
—
that
is
,
of
course
,
to
live
,
—
to
live
for
the
good
of
the
Commonwealth
,
then
shall
we
be
prepared
for
the
enjoyment
of
perfect
art
,
and
then
shall
the
musician
,
—
that
is
,
of
course
,
the
art
of
the
musician
,
—
be
allowed
to
exist
without
such
sordid
considerations
as
bread
and
butter
and
a
roof
.
I
use
art
in
its
highest
,
its
only
real
sense
,
as
meaning
music
only
;
such
imitative
branches
as
literature
and
painting
will
not
then
be
practised
.
I
—
I
beg
your
pardon
?
"
"
Please
do
n't
stop
,
"
urged
the
gray-eyed
girl
,
who
had
painted
certain
hot
sunsets
and
purple
mists
during
her
travels
on
the
Continent
,
and
had
shown
in
her
face
what
she
thought
of
the
musician
's
last
words
,
"
I
would
not
interrupt
for
the
world
.
I
do
n't
know
anything
about
Socialism
,
or
any
of
the
other
things
you
mention
except
painting
,
which
is
evidently
doomed
.
So
pray
go
on
,
I
find
it
most
entertaining
.
"
And
a
laugh
,
in
which
derision
was
plainly
discernible
,
rang
out
to
bear
testimony
to
her
words
.
She
evidently
did
not
realize
the
serious
nature
of
the
assemblage
in
which
she
found
herself
,
and
Mrs.
Reginald
acquired
a
distinct
antipathy
for
her
when
she
leaned
back
in
her
chair
carelessly
,
and
proceeded
to
argue
with
Digby
as
though
he
were
any
ordinary
young
man
,
with
no
ideas
,
and
no
studio
,
and
no
deep
and
hidden
tragedy
in
his
life
which
could
be
alluded
to
darkly
whenever
the
topic
of
conversation
required
it
.
And
no
one
in
the
room
could
forgive
her
when
the
musician
threw
himself
on
the
chair
at
her
side
,
and
condescended
to
parry
her
objections
as
though
he
thoroughly
enjoyed
the
attack
she
was
daring
to
make
upon
his
favorite
principles
.
"
Do
you
not
see
that
the
language
of
painting
is
limited
?
"
he
cried
.
"
It
has
told
us
all
it
had
to
tell
;
it
is
not
adapted
to
modern
needs
and
modern
craving
,
though
the
impressionists
have
made
a
fine
attempt
,
a
noble
attempt
,
to
make
it
express
more
than
it
can
.
Do
you
not
see
that
while
music
is
purely
spiritual
,
purely
intellectual
,
painting
is
a
mere
imitation
of
the
common
objects
of
nature
?
"
"
Man
and
woman
being
among
the
common
objects
?
"
murmured
the
girl
.
But
he
did
not
heed
her
tiresomely
obvious
remark
,
and
plunged
onwards
.
"
Is
not
art
finer
,
ten
times
finer
than
nature
?
You
cannot
see
below
the
surface
,
you
painters
who
copy
nature
,
poor
ignorant
nature
,
who
is
only
on
the
threshold
of
knowledge
herself
.
You
say
you
can
paint
a
tree
;
but
when
it
is
done
,
what
is
it
?
A
tree
!
"
"
No
,
it
is
not
only
the
tree
,
"
objected
the
other
,
"
it
is
the
picture
in
the
artist
's
mind
that
the
tree
makes
.
When
you
and
I
look
at
a
tree
we
see
two
different
things
,
—
apparently
;
and
as
I
live
in
the
country
most
of
the
year
,
I
am
thankful
I
am
not
a
musician
.
Voilà
tout
!
"
"
But
even
then
?
You
can
put
into
your
picture
none
of
the
workings
of
the
human
mind
,
none
of
the
aspirations
of
the
human
soul
.
When
you
have
a
great
happiness
or
a
great
sorrow
,
does
it
help
you
to
paint
your
pictures
?
No
,
no
,
your
painting
is
apart
from
your
existence
,
your
mind
has
no
place
there
.
In
the
future
we
shall
have
but
one
art
,
and
that
art
will
be
music
!
"
"
Oh
,
Mr.
Raleigh
!
"
laughed
the
girl
,
"
you
are
making
a
world
for
one
kind
of
people
.
What
will
happen
to
the
poor
luckless
ones
like
myself
who
are
not
musical
?
I
suppose
there
will
have
to
be
some
in
your
world
?
"
"
Je
n'en
vois
pas
la
nécessité
,
"
said
the
musician
,
relaxing
into
a
laugh
too
;
but
Mrs.
Routh
,
who
had
never
read
Voltaire
,
thought
it
was
quite
time
to
interfere
when
she
could
not
even
understand
what
they
were
saying
,
and
she
dropped
her
parasol
.
Digby
stooped
to
pick
it
up
,
and
she
asked
him
promptly
to
play
something
.
The
spell
was
broken
,
and
the
chorus
round
the
room
echoed
the
request
.
The
musician
smiled
in
a
forced
manner
,
and
said
he
would
play
the
thirty-seven
variations
of
Beethoven
.
"
Oh
,
no
,
something
of
your
own
,
"
begged
the
chorus
.
"
Yes
,
please
,
Mr.
Raleigh
,
something
full
of
the
workings
of
the
human
mind
and
the
aspirations
of
the
human
soul
,
"
said
the
girl
,
merrily
;
and
as
the
musician
sat
down
and
began
to
play
,
she
again
shocked
everybody
by
walking
round
the
room
and
examining
the
photographs
.
"
How
exquisite
,
how
emotional
!
"
cried
the
easily
moved
Mrs.
Reginald
when
he
had
finished
.
"
Is
he
not
bound
to
get
on
?
"
said
the
other
upholders
of
altruism
.
But
the
musician
did
not
seem
to
hear
them
,
for
he
crossed
over
to
the
girl
by
the
bookshelves
.
"
Now
tell
me
,
"
she
said
,
hardly
lowering
her
voice
,
"
is
it
possible
to
compose
anything
that
would
express
the
aspirations
of
Mrs.
Reginald
Routh
's
soul
?
That
is
she
,
is
it
not
,
the
one
in
the
black
silk
who
glares
at
me
and
is
so
maternal
to
you
?
Oh
,
I
shall
never
understand
the
language
of
music
;
I
wonder
if
you
find
the
language
of
painting
as
difficult
,
and
if
that
is
why
you
have
acquired
such
an
unflattering
opinion
of
it
?
"
"
May
it
not
be
because
I
have
as
yet
seen
none
of
your
sketches
?
"
he
said
gallantly
;
but
she
shrugged
her
shoulders
and
turned
away
.
"
What
stacks
of
photographs
you
have
.
Cleverly
arranged
too
,
I
see
:
pupils
in
evening
dress
from
twenty
to
twenty-five
on
the
piano
;
pupils
with
long
hair
and
pinafores
on
the
mantelshelf
with
the
pipe-racks
;
mammas
in
velvet
and
fur
behind
the
fern-pots
.
Ah
,
the
workings
of
the
musical
mind
are
most
subtle
.
Good-bye
;
I
suppose
I
shall
see
you
down
at
the
Manor
on
Saturday
?
"
"
I
hope
to
run
down
for
the
week
end
;
I
have
not
seen
my
people
for
months
.
And
perhaps
I
may
have
an
opportunity
of
converting
you
yet
!
Is
your
carriage
here
?
"
"
Who
is
she
?
"
asked
some
one
,
when
the
musician
had
followed
her
into
the
hall
.
"
Do
n't
ask
me
,
dear
,
"
said
Mrs.
Reginald
,
with
her
habitual
smile
,
"
I
am
quite
unacquainted
with
the
person
.
"
"
Poor
Mr.
Raleigh
,
I
quite
felt
for
him
,
"
said
another
;
"
but
how
chivalrous
he
is
!
No
one
would
have
suspected
how
much
her
impertinence
was
torturing
his
sensitive
nature
.
"
"
I
should
not
call
her
impertinent
myself
,
"
said
Mrs.
Reginald
,
charitably
,
"
I
think
it
is
merely
want
of
breeding
.
Provincial
,
I
should
say
.
Some
friend
of
the
family
perhaps
;
I
have
heard
—
that
is
to
say
,
Mr.
Digby
has
often
talked
to
me
of
his
home
in
the
country
.
Strange
that
so
many
of
our
greatest
men
should
have
come
up
from
the
provinces
.
Take
—
take
Händel
,
for
instance
,
or
even
Charlotte
Brontë
.
"
"
What
a
pretty
girl
,
Mr.
Raleigh
;
who
is
she
?
"
asked
the
first
speaker
,
when
the
musician
returned
,
with
rather
a
conscious
look
on
his
face
.
"
Ah
,
yes
,
charming
,
is
n't
she
?
She
is
Lady
Joan
Relton
,
the
Relton
Court
family
,
you
know
;
came
into
the
title
unexpectedly
through
the
death
of
a
great-uncle
.
Not
much
wealth
,
I
believe
;
no
doubt
,
all
the
money
has
been
squandered
by
her
worthless
and
immoral
ancestors
,
"
he
added
,
remembering
his
prophet
's
mantle
in
time
to
justify
his
momentary
interest
in
the
aristocracy
.
"
Will
you
give
us
another
song
,
Mrs.
Routh
?
"
And
,
the
room
having
been
cleared
,
as
it
were
,
of
the
heretical
element
,
the
atmosphere
of
music
once
more
settled
down
solidly
on
that
studio
in
the
West
End
.
CHAPTER
II
.
Squire
Raleigh
was
a
philanthropist
.
But
philanthropy
in
town
is
a
costly
amusement
,
and
Squire
Raleigh
had
a
large
family
,
whose
claims
could
not
comfortably
be
ignored
in
favor
of
charitable
institutions
,
although
a
philanthropist
with
a
love
for
mankind
cannot
be
expected
to
do
as
much
for
his
own
children
as
an
ordinary
domesticated
egoist
.
Nevertheless
,
after
the
endowment
of
an
orphan
asylum
,
and
the
failure
of
a
Liberal
newspaper
speculation
,
and
the
gift
of
a
public
park
to
the
people
had
been
followed
by
the
reduction
of
his
income
to
one-third
of
its
original
value
,
the
vigorous
reformer
yielded
to
the
persuasions
of
his
sons
and
his
lawyers
and
retired
to
his
country
estate
,
with
a
knighthood
,
a
troublesome
liver
,
and
a
firm
resolve
to
get
to
the
bottom
of
the
land
question
.
At
Murville
Manor
,
an
old
Georgian
house
standing
near
a
quaint
little
village
in
one
of
the
home
counties
,
Sir
Marcus
Raleigh
once
more
tried
to
forget
the
disagreeable
facts
of
an
income
with
decreasing
resources
and
a
family
of
increasing
claims
,
and
plunged
into
fresh
philanthropic
schemes
,
this
time
relating
to
small
holdings
,
and
the
growth
of
potatoes
for
the
million
,
and
the
advancement
in
general
of
the
agricultural
laborer
.
Such
energy
naturally
brought
the
enthusiast
into
collision
with
his
own
farming
tenants
,
who
liked
to
preserve
the
monopoly
of
grumbling
to
themselves
,
and
although
not
hesitating
to
complain
of
the
difficulties
of
making
their
land
pay
,
yet
objected
strongly
to
having
small
portions
of
it
wrested
from
them
and
given
to
their
own
laborers
instead
,
who
throve
upon
them
straightway
.
It
likewise
bred
strained
relations
between
the
Squire
and
the
old
rector
,
who
in
his
own
way
of
Sunday-schools
,
and
coal
clubs
,
and
relief
funds
,
was
a
philanthropist
of
an
old
world
form
,
and
could
not
understand
why
the
traditional
supporter
of
church
charities
should
prefer
to
invent
charities
of
his
own
and
allow
the
church
to
fall
into
debt
meanwhile
.
His
family
also
,
who
had
not
inherited
philanthropic
tendencies
,
failed
to
appreciate
the
unselfishness
of
their
father
in
this
direction
,
and
complained
with
the
grossest
individualism
of
the
want
of
pocket
money
.
They
complained
,
too
,
of
being
forced
to
exchange
a
town
life
,
where
they
could
at
least
sink
their
father
's
personality
in
the
oblivion
of
society
,
for
a
country
one
,
where
it
was
impossible
to
remain
unknown
for
miles
round
,
where
philanthropy
was
cheap
and
therefore
more
rife
than
before
,
and
where
a
large
staff
of
men-servants
was
replaced
by
a
so-called
handy
man
.
The
handy
man
,
by
the
way
,
in
spite
of
advertising
himself
in
the
county
paper
as
competent
to
look
after
"
pony
,
cart
,
garden
,
boots
,
knives
,
fifteen
shillings
a
week
,
Sundays
,
and
beer
,
"
had
as
yet
shown
no
decided
talent
in
any
of
these
particulars
,
except
in
the
last-mentioned
one
.
Among
a
mass
of
other
inconsistencies
,
which
almost
likened
him
to
a
schoolboy
who
is
having
a
romp
through
life
instead
of
playing
the
game
seriously
,
the
Squire
,
while
considering
his
children
in
the
light
of
impedimenta
,
yet
cherished
a
passionate
affection
for
the
least
worthy
of
them
all
,
for
the
one
to
whom
nature
had
decreed
that
he
should
bequeath
,
with
a
liberality
he
had
shown
his
children
in
no
other
respect
,
the
largest
share
of
his
own
failings
.
Jack
Raleigh
was
handsome
,
fascinating
,
improvident
to
a
degree
,
with
no
fixed
code
of
morality
and
no
definite
powers
of
reasoning
,
ruling
himself
and
his
actions
entirely
by
a
kind
of
blind
instinct
such
as
we
find
in
healthy
animals
or
in
children
.
His
love
,
like
his
antipathy
,
was
of
an
elementary
character
;
if
he
found
himself
in
a
complicated
situation
,
which
was
not
rare
,
he
would
merely
choose
the
most
pleasant
course
open
to
him
,
without
giving
it
a
moment
's
consideration
,
and
would
follow
it
gayly
until
another
obstacle
arose
which
would
have
to
be
treated
in
a
similar
manner
.
Whether
he
was
the
happier
for
feeling
nothing
deeply
,
belongs
to
those
questions
which
are
argued
by
thousands
of
lives
every
day
without
a
conclusive
answer
being
found
to
them
.
That
his
temperament
was
the
sunnier
for
it
and
that
his
misdeeds
were
less
harmful
,
is
most
certain
;
and
since
the
God
whom
he
believed
in
,
if
he
believed
in
one
at
all
,
was
a
kind
of
inexhaustible
Being
who
could
offer
him
as
many
fresh
opportunities
as
he
had
squandered
already
,
and
seemed
to
be
the
cause
,
in
some
indirect
way
that
Jack
never
attempted
to
fathom
,
of
occasional
magnificent
music
in
churches
and
cathedrals
,
his
religion
as
well
as
his
excellent
digestion
saved
him
from
the
fits
of
depression
that
usually
accompany
the
sanguine
disposition
.
He
had
discovered
before
he
was
out
of
his
teens
that
England
was
not
the
place
for
one
so
restless
as
he
,
and
he
had
been
sent
out
to
more
than
one
colony
"
to
try
his
luck
,
"
as
the
Squire
said
,
in
a
vague
hope
of
shifting
his
uneasy
responsibility
for
his
son
's
actions
on
to
fortune
.
But
fortune
,
although
not
philanthropic
in
her
tendencies
,
and
having
no
nobler
vocation
to
distract
her
from
her
plain
duty
of
looking
after
her
prodigal
sons
,
refused
to
help
him
,
and
he
inevitably
returned
home
with
more
debts
,
more
friends
,
more
anecdotes
,
but
no
more
stability
than
before
.
It
was
on
a
dull
morning
in
July
,
at
breakfast
time
,
that
Jack
caused
his
father
for
the
hundredth
time
to
recognize
his
existence
in
an
unpleasant
manner
.
It
was
an
unfortunate
time
for
his
letter
to
arrive
,
for
there
was
a
mist
that
day
,
and
as
Sir
Marcus
was
profoundly
ignorant
both
of
meteorology
and
the
crops
,
and
pretended
to
be
an
authority
on
both
,
he
chose
to
feel
injured
because
Helen
assured
him
that
it
was
not
going
to
rain
,
and
that
his
hay
was
not
going
to
be
spoiled
.
To
which
the
Squire
,
who
never
could
endure
the
plain
truths
of
his
eldest
daughter
,
replied
testily
that
the
mist
did
mean
rain
,
that
his
hay
was
going
to
be
spoiled
as
it
always
was
,
and
that
he
himself
was
a
ruined
man
;
he
then
sat
down
at
the
now
silent
table
and
sighed
in
a
dejected
manner
.
Presently
,
finding
that
no
one
was
looking
at
him
,
he
roused
himself
partially
,
and
made
a
hearty
breakfast
behind
his
newspaper
;
and
when
the
conversation
around
him
was
once
more
in
full
swing
he
condescended
to
look
at
his
letters
.
He
opened
Jack
's
first
,
as
he
always
did
.
It
was
the
old
story
,
told
in
the
boy
's
usual
careless
manner
:
Canada
had
grown
too
small
for
him
,
he
was
feeling
homesick
,
and
was
about
to
sail
for
England
,
and
would
be
with
his
father
almost
as
soon
as
his
letter
,
to
which
effect
he
was
his
loving
son
Jack
.
It
was
not
the
first
letter
of
the
kind
that
the
Squire
had
received
from
the
same
source
,
and
he
knew
what
this
one
meant
:
Jack
would
be
back
again
before
the
week
was
out
,
with
an
accumulation
of
debts
and
not
a
dollar
in
his
pocket
,
Jack
,
with
his
sunny
smile
,
and
his
nonchalance
,
and
his
utter
unconsciousness
of
offence
.
Jack
meant
money
,
family
meant
money
,
and
Sir
Marcus
was
close
upon
overdrawing
his
banking
account
already
,
and
had
promised
a
large
subscription
only
the
day
before
to
the
building
fund
of
the
village
reading-room
.
If
there
had
been
no
stranger
present
he
would
have
relieved
his
feelings
by
a
characteristic
outburst
;
but
Lady
Joan
sat
opposite
to
him
and
saw
as
much
as
she
wished
to
see
without
raising
her
eyes
from
her
plate
,
and
he
felt
instinctively
that
he
might
merely
succeed
in
making
himself
ridiculous
if
he
spoke
before
the
opportunity
occurred
;
and
,
impetuous
man
as
he
was
,
something
he
could
not
define
restrained
him
from
creating
a
situation
just
then
which
should
not
be
dignified
.
So
he
read
the
letter
over
again
,
and
he
listened
mechanically
to
the
conversation
of
his
offending
children
,
without
heeding
what
they
said
.
"
After
all
,
"
Digby
was
saying
,
with
a
gravity
which
the
subject
hardly
merited
,
for
in
the
heart
of
his
own
family
,
although
he
still
remained
the
prophet
,
yet
he
refrained
from
provoking
the
serious
discussions
which
were
only
fitting
within
the
sacred
walls
of
the
studio
,
"
after
all
,
it
does
not
matter
how
bad
a
fellow
is
,
if
he
is
only
artistically
so
,
I
mean
if
he
will
only
be
thorough
over
it
.
"
"
It
does
not
matter
how
wicked
we
all
are
,
so
long
as
we
can
see
the
humor
of
sin
.
To
be
able
to
laugh
at
ourselves
is
the
great
thing
,
"
murmured
Lady
Joan
.
"
There
is
nothing
so
depressing
,
"
continued
the
musician
,
without
heeding
the
interruption
,
"
as
the
spectacle
of
a
man
who
will
not
face
his
own
wickedness
—
or
even
his
own
goodness
.
It
is
a
sign
of
the
age
,
this
wretched
spirit
of
compromise
;
we
do
n't
live
in
town
because
it
is
unhealthy
,
and
the
fogs
are
so
bad
—
"
"
My
dear
,
that
was
not
the
reason
,
"
Lady
Raleigh
murmured
—
also
unheeded
.
"
—
and
we
do
n't
live
in
the
country
because
it
is
too
far
to
come
up
to
the
concerts
;
so
we
live
at
Crouch
End
or
Putney
,
where
an
exasperating
local
railway
lies
between
us
and
St.
James
's
Hall
,
and
where
the
ends
of
the
fogs
hang
about
for
days
.
We
have
n't
the
pluck
to
say
yea
or
nay
;
we
leave
all
our
decisions
to
the
gods
,
who
throw
them
back
upon
us
again
,
or
to
—
to
fate
,
who
only
plays
with
us
at
will
;
we
would
do
anything
to
shirk
the
responsibility
of
the
ego
.
Look
at
Helen
,
now
;
the
bent
of
her
character
is
towards
religion
,
yet
she
hesitates
to
go
into
a
convent
.
Therefore
her
religion
does
not
make
her
picturesque
.
"
"
Digby
!
How
can
you
argue
at
breakfast
time
?
And
I
think
you
might
keep
your
horrid
atheistical
notions
to
yourself
before
the
children
,
"
cried
Helen
,
crossly
.
She
had
not
recovered
from
her
passage
of
arms
with
the
Squire
.
Digby
plodded
on
with
his
breakfast
and
his
theory
.
"
We
are
all
the
same
,
as
a
family
.
Take
the
father
:
he
would
lay
down
his
life
for
the
working-man
,
or
he
thinks
so
;
and
yet
he
is
afraid
to
go
in
for
Socialism
,
which
offers
the
only
solution
to
the
labor
question
.
It
is
an
age
of
compromise
;
we
are
all
cowards
.
"
"
Digby
is
so
fond
of
taking
his
own
particular
failings
and
generalizing
them
,
"
said
the
still
ruffled
Helen
to
nobody
in
particular
.
"
People
with
decided
opinions
,
picturesque
people
,
as
you
call
them
,
are
people
with
fads
;
and
I
hate
people
with
fads
,
"
said
Lady
Joan
,
"
they
are
ten
times
more
uninteresting
than
the
weathercock
sort
of
people
who
make
compromises
.
Why
should
you
always
behave
as
if
you
went
by
clockwork
?
It
is
far
too
much
trouble
when
,
after
all
,
nothing
matters
.
And
why
do
you
want
to
be
quarrelling
with
the
age
perpetually
?
It
seems
a
nice
comfortable
sort
of
age
to
me
;
I
suppose
it
has
a
different
aspect
for
musical
people
.
"
Digby
's
end
of
the
table
was
always
the
most
popular
whenever
he
was
at
home
,
which
was
not
often
enough
to
spoil
his
reputation
,
—
more
popular
at
all
events
than
the
other
end
,
where
Lady
Raleigh
insisted
on
making
the
tea
,
and
made
it
very
badly
,
and
where
the
Squire
opened
his
letters
and
found
they
were
mostly
bills
.
If
his
eldest
son
had
not
been
monopolizing
the
conversation
on
this
morning
in
particular
,
the
efforts
of
Sir
Marcus
to
make
a
sensation
by
sighing
deeply
and
rustling
the
letter
in
his
hand
might
have
succeeded
in
attracting
some
notice
;
but
as
it
was
,
he
was
quite
unheeded
,
and
his
wife
went
on
spilling
the
milk
behind
the
urn
,
and
filling
up
the
teapot
with
water
which
had
boiled
half
an
hour
ago
,
while
the
noisy
chatter
was
carried
on
uninterruptedly
round
Digby
and
Lady
Joan
.
"
Of
all
forms
of
self-indulgence
,
unintelligent
self-sacrifice
is
the
most
degrading
.
Somebody
says
that
the
time
of
the
clever
people
is
taken
up
in
undoing
the
harm
done
by
the
good
people
.
"
"
By
the
stupid
people
,
"
objected
Helen
brusquely
.
"
That
is
just
the
point
,
"
began
Digby
,
vigorously
;
but
his
mother
's
complaining
voice
broke
in
upon
the
conversation
.
"
What
is
to
be
done
,
Helen
?
Have
you
heard
,
my
dear
?
Mrs.
Bates
says
she
cannot
let
me
have
more
than
three
pounds
of
butter
a
week
.
Did
you
ever
know
anything
more
provoking
?
Oh
,
the
difficulty
of
getting
dairy
produce
in
the
country
!
Why
did
we
ever
leave
Cadogan
Square
?
"
Perhaps
country
life
was
more
trying
to
Lady
Raleigh
than
to
any
other
member
of
her
family
;
for
,
with
the
inconsequence
of
woman
,
she
could
not
forgive
her
husband
for
selling
their
London
house
,
although
herself
the
first
instigator
of
the
scheme
.
To
remind
him
continually
of
the
fact
that
the
place
did
not
agree
with
her
,
she
refused
to
trust
herself
to
the
handy
man
's
whip
,
and
never
walked
further
than
the
garden
gate
,
by
which
means
she
preserved
her
constitution
admirably
,
and
ruined
her
nervous
system
;
and
in
this
unhealthy
condition
of
mind
she
shut
herself
up
in
Murville
Manor
,
where
her
sole
occupations
became
the
mismanagement
of
her
household
,
and
the
perusal
of
the
illustrated
papers
.
Her
last
remark
caught
the
Squire
's
ear
,
and
gave
him
the
opportunity
he
wanted
.
"
Why
did
we
leave
Cadogan
Square
,
Lettice
?
"
he
shouted
,
wheeling
round
upon
her
suddenly
.
"
I
will
tell
you
why
,
if
you
ca
n't
see
for
yourself
by
merely
looking
down
the
table
.
Because
I
am
a
poor
man
,
Lettice
;
because
I
have
a
large
family
that
would
swallow
up
any
income
;
because
it
is
money
,
money
,
all
day
long
,
until
I
feel
I
ca
n't
give
a
shilling
to
a
poor
laboring
man
to
—
to
improve
his
mind
and
—
and
his
position
,
without
feeling
,
without
feeling
extravagant
,
in
short
.
"
—
The
Squire
always
found
that
his
philanthropic
sentiments
did
not
sound
nearly
so
effective
in
his
own
home
as
when
thundered
forth
from
a
rickety
platform
in
the
village
schoolroom
;
the
family
circle
is
at
all
times
a
great
leveller
,
and
his
constant
terror
of
the
ridiculous
brought
him
swiftly
back
to
the
present
actual
grievance
:
"
Do
you
ask
me
why
,
when
I
receive
a
letter
like
this
from
the
son
I
have
loved
and
educated
and
denied
myself
for
?
I
will
tell
you
why
,
if
you
like
,
Lettice
.
Because
I
am
not
a
millionnaire
,
Lettice
;
because
I
have
four
sons
doing
nothing
but
spend
money
;
because
Jack
,
confound
the
fellow
,
is
in
England
at
the
present
moment
,
and
may
be
here
to-day
—
"
Lady
Raleigh
gave
a
little
scream
,
and
possessed
herself
of
the
offending
letter
.
The
children
began
to
ask
innumerable
questions
in
hushed
voices
,
the
elder
ones
looked
dejected
,
and
Lady
Joan
sipped
her
coffee
with
an
exaggerated
look
of
unconcern
on
her
face
,
and
a
twinkle
in
the
gray
eyes
which
all
the
powers
of
dissimulation
that
she
possessed
could
not
quite
conceal
.
"
He
does
not
say
he
is
in
debt
,
"
said
Lady
Raleigh
,
through
a
mist
of
joyful
tears
.
Sir
Marcus
twisted
his
napkin
into
a
tangle
and
threw
it
on
the
floor
.
"
Say
?
"
he
cried
,
striding
towards
the
door
;
"
do
n't
I
know
what
he
means
,
the
rascal
?
I
tell
you
I
've
done
with
him
for
once
and
for
always
;
he
shall
enter
my
house
no
more
;
and
if
he
comes
here
with
his
intolerable
impudence
,
I
shall
show
him
the
door
.
It
is
right
that
I
should
make
an
example
of
him
,
whatever
it
costs
me
to
do
it
;
and
though
he
is
my
own
son
I
will
harden
my
heart
and
do
it
.
Not
a
penny
more
shall
he
get
out
of
me
;
I
wash
my
hands
of
him
and
his
debts
;
it
is
my
—
my
duty
as
a
father
to
—
to
do
it
,
in
short
,
and
you
may
tell
him
so
when
he
comes
,
the
young
scapegrace
!
"
And
with
a
sense
almost
of
relief
at
having
found
a
justifiable
reason
for
avoiding
this
fresh
trouble
,
and
moreover
a
lurking
suspicion
that
any
such
reason
was
wholly
ineffectual
to
prevent
Jack
from
coming
home
,
Sir
Marcus
flung
himself
out
of
the
room
and
banged
the
door
.
"
Jack
ought
to
be
ashamed
of
himself
;
how
can
he
expect
papa
to
do
any
more
for
him
?
"
said
the
implacable
Helen
.
There
is
a
kind
of
religious
woman
who
,
although
she
is
a
woman
and
although
she
is
religious
,
is
a
slave
to
her
own
ideal
of
justice
.
"
Helen
,
do
n't
be
unjust
,
"
complained
her
mother
,
wiping
her
tears
,
and
alive
to
half-a-dozen
sensations
at
the
same
instant
;
"
the
dear
boy
cannot
help
being
fond
of
his
home
,
so
sweet
and
affectionate
of
him
.
Dear
Lady
Joan
,
you
must
pay
no
heed
to
what
Sir
Marcus
said
just
now
;
he
does
not
mean
all
he
says
,
you
know
,
and
he
was
just
a
little
startled
by
the
suddenness
of
dear
Jack
's
decision
;
it
is
my
husband
's
way
of
hiding
his
real
emotion
.
I
'm
sure
I
do
n't
know
why
he
should
make
so
much
fuss
over
a
trifle
when
we
have
so
many
real
troubles
to
bear
.
—
Now
,
my
dear
Digby
,
you
know
I
do
not
allow
smoking
in
the
dining-room
;
how
can
you
be
so
unkind
as
to
add
wilfully
to
all
my
worries
?
I
shall
have
a
headache
for
certain
,
now
.
—
Tom
,
darling
,
open
the
window
,
and
try
to
get
the
horrid
smell
out
;
I
feel
distracted
!
And
has
any
one
seen
my
key-basket
?
"
"
When
will
Jack
be
here
,
I
wonder
?
"
observed
Digby
,
holding
the
offending
cigarette
out
of
the
window
,
and
trying
to
hide
by
a
supreme
indifference
his
consciousness
at
that
moment
that
a
prophet
is
without
honor
in
his
own
country
.
Lady
Joan
,
from
a
studied
attitude
on
the
wide
old
window
seat
,
was
not
in
the
least
deceived
by
his
manner
,
and
laughed
clearly
and
mockingly
.
"
Oh
,
the
dear
boy
,
"
said
Lady
Raleigh
,
in
a
restored
and
cheerful
tone
,
"
to
think
that
he
may
come
at
any
moment
,
and
there
is
no
ale
in
the
house
.
Helen
,
you
must
write
at
once
,
and
,
dear
me
!
we
must
watch
for
every
footstep
all
day
;
and
there
are
the
sheets
too
,
—
where
is
Nurse
?
Dear
Lady
Joan
,
you
must
forgive
the
emotions
of
a
foolish
old
mother
;
I
assure
you
I
am
never
flurried
like
this
;
but
even
the
best
of
housekeepers
would
be
disturbed
by
such
a
sudden
event
.
And
he
really
must
not
have
damp
sheets
;
he
has
slept
in
a
blanket
for
two
years
,
he
tells
me
,
and
damp
sheets
are
so
dangerous
;
but
he
shall
have
them
to-night
,
bless
him
!
Oh
,
children
!
look
,
look
!
who
is
that
coming
along
behind
the
hedge
?
Move
out
of
the
way
,
Digby
,
and
do
n't
make
so
much
noise
,
everybody
.
Why
ca
n't
I
make
myself
heard
in
my
own
house
?
Is
it
—
can
it
—
oh
,
tell
me
who
it
is
!
"
A
moment
's
breathless
silence
was
followed
by
a
shout
of
laughter
as
the
unmistakable
corduroys
of
the
handy
man
came
into
view
.
"
George
,
George
,
come
here
,
"
exclaimed
Lady
Raleigh
;
"
you
must
not
leave
this
spot
all
day
long
,
as
Master
Jack
may
be
here
at
any
minute
.
Do
you
understand
?
So
go
into
the
field
at
once
and
get
the
pony
in
,
and
you
had
better
have
him
harnessed
,
all
ready
to
go
to
the
station
.
And
will
you
go
now
to
the
post-office
and
see
if
there
is
a
telegram
?
You
might
wait
there
on
the
chance
,
or
at
all
events
be
in
readiness
.
But
do
n't
go
beyond
the
grounds
,
whatever
you
do
.
Dear
boy
,
how
I
love
him
!
"
And
perfectly
happy
in
the
certainty
of
everything
being
properly
arranged
now
that
she
had
given
her
own
orders
,
Lady
Raleigh
swept
away
to
arrange
a
royal
feast
for
the
prodigal
.
"
Please
,
Mr.
Digby
,
be
I
to
stop
here
till
Master
Jack
comes
?
"
asked
the
bewildered
George
.
Digby
laughed
quietly
,
and
re-lighted
his
cigarette
.
"
If
you
take
my
advice
,
George
,
do
your
work
as
usual
,
and
do
n't
bother
about
Master
Jack
.
When
he
does
come
he
wo
n't
dream
of
sending
a
telegram
to
say
so
.
That
is
not
Jack
's
way
.
"
"
Will
he
walk
from
the
station
?
"
asked
Lady
Joan
,
carelessly
.
The
others
had
all
strolled
away
;
and
,
in
the
presence
of
the
maid
who
was
clearing
away
the
breakfast
things
,
she
felt
it
incumbent
upon
her
to
say
something
commonplace
.
Digby
,
who
,
being
a
man
,
felt
no
such
necessity
,
looked
at
the
pretty
little
foot
that
was
swinging
backwards
and
forwards
,
and
wondered
why
she
wanted
to
know
.
"
Not
he
!
That
is
not
Jack
's
way
either
.
He
will
drive
up
in
a
coach
and
four
when
we
have
given
up
expecting
him
,
and
want
to
know
why
we
did
not
all
go
down
to
the
station
in
a
body
to
meet
him
.
Then
there
will
be
a
hubbub
,
and
Jack
will
be
king
of
the
house
again
.
"
"
And
you
will
be
dethroned
?
"
she
asked
maliciously
.
He
heard
the
question
,
and
did
not
notice
the
malice
in
it
.
"
Only
until
he
begins
to
say
why
he
has
come
,
and
the
rain
has
spoiled
the
hay
,
"
he
said
,
with
another
laugh
.
CHAPTER
III
.
With
the
peculiar
good
fortune
which
has
attended
the
oracle
of
all
ages
,
Digby
's
prediction
came
true
,
and
Jack
did
come
home
that
evening
when
every
one
had
stopped
talking
about
him
,
and
there
was
a
universal
tendency
among
his
brothers
and
sisters
to
avoid
the
topic
of
his
arrival
.
It
was
tea-time
,
and
the
Squire
was
standing
in
the
middle
of
the
drawing-room
and
allowing
himself
to
be
coaxed
on
to
his
favorite
subjects
by
certain
methods
known
only
to
his
children
;
though
Lady
Joan
,
with
her
accustomed
shrewdness
,
and
partly
from
a
desire
to
fall
into
the
spirit
of
her
surroundings
,
however
dull
they
might
be
,
also
lent
her
aid
in
drawing
him
out
,
and
Sir
Marcus
became
a
willing
and
unconscious
victim
.
"
Interested
in
duck-breeding
,
did
you
say
?
"
he
exclaimed
eagerly
;
"
then
you
shall
see
something
you
ca
n't
see
in
Pont
Street
or
any
of
your
swell
West
End
places
,
"
forgetting
for
the
moment
his
envy
of
Lady
Joan
's
charming
house
in
town
.
"
You
shall
come
over
one
of
our
famous
duckeries
,
and
see
what
you
've
been
eating
with
green
peas
all
the
season
,
and
learn
how
we
breed
ducks
in
Murville
.
It
is
n't
every
one
who
gets
the
opportunity
of
coming
to
the
very
centre
of
the
most
important
village
industry
in
the
home
counties
,
and
it
is
quite
time
you
saw
how
the
laboring
man
is
kept
from
starvation
by
a
little
help
and
a
little
encouragement
.
Why
,
let
me
tell
you
,
though
I
am
a
modest
man
,
God
knows
,
and
it
is
not
I
who
should
say
it
,
that
if
it
had
not
been
for
my
letters
to
the
papers
,
the
duck
interest
would
have
completely
died
out
in
Murville
long
ago
.
And
where
would
the
working-man
have
been
then
?
Do
you
know
,
my
dear
young
lady
,
that
I
,
that
is
,
Murville
,
or
rather
,
I
should
say
,
my
letter
to
the
county
paper
has
been
quoted
in
the
'
Daily
Liberal
'
?
There
's
fame
for
you
!
You
did
n't
know
you
had
come
to
such
a
world-renowned
place
,
eh
?
Ah
,
we
are
not
so
hidden
in
Murville
,
after
all
;
that
is
,
the
—
the
cause
of
the
elevation
of
the
laborer
has
its
opportunities
even
in
a
small
village
like
this
.
"
"
Even
a
duck
has
its
portion
in
the
scheme
of
Providence
,
"
murmured
Lady
Joan
into
her
tea-cup
;
"
I
wish
I
could
find
out
all
these
wonderful
things
for
myself
,
they
are
so
improving
.
For
instance
,
I
shall
never
mind
paying
a
guinea
a
couple
in
February
,
now
that
I
know
I
shall
be
doing
a
great
national
good
by
buying
them
.
"
"
You
have
got
hold
of
quite
the
wrong
idea
,
"
interrupted
Digby
,
"
a
most
anti-socialistic
idea
,
of
which
I
could
not
believe
even
you
to
be
capable
.
As
if
the
luxury
of
the
rich
could
be
of
the
least
avail
—
"
A
jaded
expression
crept
over
the
visage
of
Helen
at
this
point
,
and
his
younger
brothers
irreverently
urging
him
to
"
play
lightly
,
as
they
had
heard
that
old
wheeze
before
,
"
the
derided
prophet
merely
regretted
the
absence
of
bears
,
and
smiled
sadly
.
His
father
gladly
filled
up
the
breach
.
"
Eh
,
what
?
Socialism
,
did
you
say
?
Of
course
it
is
Socialism
in
its
noblest
form
,
when
—
when
we
get
a
notice
in
the
'
Daily
Liberal
,
'
and
without
paying
for
it
too
!
It
was
none
of
your
cooked-up
jobs
,
carried
through
with
bribery
and
corruption
,
let
me
tell
you
,
it
was
all
fair
and
above
board
;
Editor
's
a
personal
friend
of
mine
,
do
n't
you
see
,
and
he
would
n't
have
quoted
from
my
letter
if
he
had
n't
thoroughly
appreciated
it
.
You
ca
n't
get
over
facts
with
any
amount
of
Socialism
;
give
me
facts
,
that
's
what
I
always
say
,
"
concluded
Sir
Marcus
,
happily
innocent
that
all
his
life
his
one
aim
had
been
to
avoid
facts
and
the
unpleasant
truths
they
had
forced
upon
him
.
"
I
can
hear
wheels
,
"
said
Lady
Raleigh
,
suddenly
.
As
she
had
made
the
same
remark
at
intervals
during
the
day
,
no
one
paid
her
any
particular
attention
except
Helen
,
who
put
out
a
protecting
hand
to
the
tea-table
,
as
if
she
anticipated
a
rush
.
This
time
,
however
,
there
was
undoubtedly
a
carriage
coming
up
the
drive
;
and
Lady
Raleigh
rose
to
her
feet
unsteadily
,
and
became
melodramatic
.
"
I
can
feel
it
is
my
boy
,
"
she
said
,
winding
her
shawl
tightly
round
her
;
"
come
to
him
,
Marcus
,
come
to
our
long-lost
child
.
"
"
Do
n't
make
a
fool
of
yourself
,
"
growled
Sir
Marcus
,
bluntly
;
he
had
suddenly
resigned
his
position
in
the
middle
of
the
room
,
and
was
sitting
uncomfortably
on
the
edge
of
the
sofa
instead
;
"
he
's
only
been
away
two
years
,
and
there
's
no
more
chance
of
his
being
lost
than
there
is
of
your
going
on
a
five-mile
walk
.
"
He
felt
he
had
fired
a
double
shot
by
his
remark
;
but
there
came
a
yell
from
the
children
on
the
doorstep
,
and
his
wife
swept
out
of
the
room
with
theatrical
movements
,
and
Sir
Marcus
felt
more
uncomfortable
than
before
.
"
Leave
him
to
me
,
children
;
let
me
have
my
boy
's
first
kiss
,
"
cried
Lady
Raleigh
,
in
the
hall
.
"
Just
look
,
"
said
the
practical
Helen
,
from
the
window
:
"
he
has
hired
Bunce
's
best
trap
,
and
we
have
n't
paid
his
bill
for
two
quarters
.
"
Lady
Joan
sat
,
and
turned
over
the
leaves
of
a
magazine
with
her
eyes
discreetly
lowered
,
and
wished
that
the
means
of
escape
were
not
so
completely
cut
off
,
and
that
she
could
get
into
the
garden
.
Family
jars
were
intensely
amusing
to
her
critical
nature
;
but
after
a
whole
day
of
them
she
felt
that
she
could
reasonably
dispense
with
any
more
just
now
,
and
,
from
the
Squire
's
attitude
,
another
storm
was
evidently
brewing
.
"
Had
n't
you
better
come
out
,
sir
?
"
suggested
Digby
.
"
No
,
sir
,
I
will
not
come
out
,
"
answered
Sir
Marcus
,
with
a
show
of
determination
.
"
Have
I
not
already
told
you
that
I
have
done
with
the
rascal
forever
?
I
meant
what
I
said
,
sir
,
and
I
will
not
see
him
nor
speak
to
him
;
he
—
he
can
go
to
some
one
else
to
pay
his
debts
!
"
And
,
unconscious
that
he
had
put
more
feeling
into
the
end
of
his
speech
than
into
anything
else
he
had
said
,
the
Squire
looked
at
his
son
and
his
daughter
as
if
vaguely
imploring
them
to
support
him
in
the
step
he
had
taken
.
In
his
most
impetuous
actions
Sir
Marcus
always
looked
for
a
supporter
.
Yet
,
much
as
Digby
admitted
the
justice
of
his
father
's
anger
,
and
much
as
Helen
might
censure
the
prodigal
herself
,
there
was
too
much
of
the
esprit
de
corps
in
them
that
ran
through
the
blood
of
all
the
Raleighs
and
made
them
a
formidable
enemy
to
the
outsider
,
to
allow
them
to
acquiesce
in
the
Squire
's
resentment
;
and
he
shifted
his
ground
a
little
and
tried
another
stratagem
.
"
Do
n't
you
see
the
trouble
and
the
misery
that
is
coming
upon
me
through
the
extravagance
of
this
young
scamp
?
How
is
it
you
are
so
short-sighted
,
so
dense
about
it
?
I
tell
you
he
is
ruining
me
,
this
Jack
you
are
all
so
fond
of
;
and
in
ruining
me
he
is
taking
the
bread
out
of
your
own
mouths
,
and
out
of
the
mouths
of
your
brothers
and
sisters
.
Hey
?
Do
you
see
now
?
"
And
finding
that
mercenary
argument
did
not
produce
the
effect
he
wanted
,
Sir
Marcus
fled
from
the
sound
of
voices
coming
dangerously
near
,
and
beat
a
sheepish
retreat
into
his
library
on
the
opposite
side
of
the
hall
.
"
It
is
curious
,
"
said
Digby
,
in
his
oratorical
way
,
"
how
the
father
can
forgive
anything
but
want
of
solid
success
.
He
does
n't
care
a
hang
that
Jack
has
been
the
most
popular
fellow
in
the
colony
,
but
if
he
had
made
his
pile
and
had
something
to
show
for
his
popularity
,
then
he
would
proclaim
it
on
the
housetops
.
What
a
curious
age
it
is
,
and
how
we
love
to
judge
by
results
!
By
the
way
,
Jack
will
have
a
warm
time
if
the
father
keeps
it
up
,
wo
n't
he
?
"
Even
the
prophet
has
to
drop
into
the
colloquial
sometimes
.
"
Good
thing
too
,
it
's
what
he
wants
,
"
said
the
inconsistent
Helen
;
and
they
both
glanced
at
the
expressionless
face
of
Lady
Joan
as
she
scanned
the
article
on
"
Chinese
architecture
,
"
and
they
left
her
to
go
and
join
the
throng
in
the
porch
.
In
the
library
on
the
other
side
of
the
hall
stood
Sir
Marcus
,
his
back
to
the
door
and
his
feet
set
very
square
on
the
hearthrug
,
trying
to
drown
the
noise
of
welcome
in
the
porch
by
rustling
the
newspaper
in
his
hands
loudly
,
while
he
kept
his
eyes
obstinately
fixed
on
the
Premier
's
speech
on
fruit-growing
for
the
million
.
"
Capital
speech
,
capital
speech
,
"
he
said
out
loud
,
beginning
it
vaguely
for
the
third
time
;
"
what
I
have
always
said
myself
in
fact
,
but
I
never
could
get
anybody
to
listen
to
me
.
Why
—
why
the
devil
are
they
making
such
a
row
in
the
garden
?
"
—
as
the
window
became
darkened
by
the
passing
of
many
figures
—
"
coming
into
the
hall
,
are
they
?
Let
them
come
into
the
hall
by
all
means
,
I
ca
n't
stop
them
,
it
's
no
longer
my
own
house
,
I
suppose
;
but
they
sha'
n't
come
in
here
anyhow
;
I
hope
I
have
a
remnant
of
authority
left
—
and
—
eh
,
what
?
is
that
the
beggar
laughing
?
bless
him
!
—
that
is
,
confound
his
impudence
!
what
right
has
he
to
laugh
when
I
do
n't
mean
to
forgive
him
?
I
—
I
've
been
a
weak
fool
all
my
life
,
but
I
'm
not
going
to
give
in
this
time
;
it
—
it
's
a
duty
I
owe
to
the
younger
ones
to
make
an
example
of
him
,
whatever
it
costs
me
to
do
it
;
not
that
it
costs
me
anything
,
of
course
,
not
anything
at
all
,
of
course
;
he
—
he
has
forfeited
my
love
,
the
—
the
rascal
,
and
I
wo
n't
give
in
this
time
.
Why
—
why
the
devil
do
n't
they
stop
his
laughing
when
I
mean
to
cast
him
off
?
Pack
of
women
and
children
,
with
no
sense
of
the
responsibilities
of
life
!
—
"
the
columns
began
to
vanish
into
mist
,
and
the
hall
seemed
filled
with
one
shout
of
laughter
;
the
Squire
gasped
and
recovered
himself
—
"
It
's
my
duty
as
a
father
to
withhold
my
forgiveness
;
what
else
is
a
poor
man
to
do
when
he
has
such
an
enormous
family
?
A
mountain
of
debts
at
his
back
,
I
'll
be
bound
,
and
he
thinks
he
is
going
to
get
round
me
to
pay
them
all
—
as
if
I
would
n't
help
him
if
I
could
,
bless
his
—
hang
his
improvidence
!
but
when
there
are
eleven
of
them
—
such
absurdity
on
the
part
of
Lettice
,
always
told
her
it
was
an
unnecessary
thing
to
have
such
a
tribe
of
them
;
but
there
!
no
one
ever
has
listened
to
me
,
and
now
they
must
bear
the
consequences
among
them
.
Wh
—
what
?
who
's
that
at
the
door
?
There
's
no
one
in
here
,
I
tell
you
,
the
—
the
room
's
empty
,
and
I
do
n't
mean
to
see
you
—
I
'm
not
going
to
be
made
a
fool
of
when
I
've
kept
it
up
all
day
—
why
does
n't
he
go
away
,
eh
?
"
The
Squire
's
voice
had
sunk
into
a
whisper
,
and
the
"
Daily
Liberal
"
shook
like
a
leaf
in
the
breeze
.
"
And
the
dear
old
guv
,
where
is
he
?
Why
does
n't
he
come
out
as
he
always
does
?
Has
n't
any
one
told
him
I
am
here
?
"
"
I
tell
you
this
is
my
room
;
it
is
n't
much
that
belongs
to
me
,
except
five
sons
doing
nothing
,
and
six
unmarried
daughters
,
but
—
but
this
room
is
my
property
,
and
I
wo
n't
have
any
one
in
,
I
tell
you
—
what
a
fool
I
was
not
to
lock
the
door
—
eh
,
what
?
who
's
that
,
eh
?
Damn
the
looking-glass
!
"
There
was
a
mirror
over
the
fireplace
,
and
the
fireplace
was
opposite
the
door
.
It
was
too
much
for
Sir
Marcus
;
if
the
boy
had
shown
the
least
sign
of
shame
,
of
nervousness
at
meeting
him
,
it
would
have
been
easier
to
keep
up
a
semblance
of
anger
;
but
,
as
usual
,
Jack
's
bluntness
of
vision
saved
him
where
finer
instincts
would
have
been
his
ruin
.
"
Hullo
,
father
,
here
I
am
!
All
right
,
father
?
I
say
,
is
n't
it
awfully
jolly
to
be
together
again
,
eh
,
father
?
"
The
premier
's
speech
on
fruit-growing
for
the
million
fluttered
down
into
the
coal
scuttle
;
and
the
Squire
wiped
his
spectacles
violently
,
and
gave
in
to
the
fascination
of
the
single
man
who
never
worked
.
And
when
Digby
strolled
in
ten
minutes
later
,
he
found
the
prodigal
filling
his
father
's
pipe
with
Canadian
tobacco
,
and
telling
him
American
anecdotes
,
while
the
little
room
resounded
with
their
laughter
.
"
Come
in
,
Digby
,
and
listen
to
this
fellow
,
"
said
Sir
Marcus
,
jovially
;
"
did
you
ever
know
such
a
fellow
as
Jack
?
It
's
a
pity
you
do
n't
try
America
,
Digby
,
it
would
do
you
a
world
of
good
,
man
!
"
Digby
accepted
the
situation
and
his
eviction
with
a
laugh
,
not
only
because
,
as
he
had
said
to
Lady
Joan
,
he
knew
he
would
be
received
back
into
favor
again
on
the
morrow
when
the
fascination
of
the
prodigal
would
have
exhausted
itself
for
the
time
,
but
also
from
a
lurking
hope
that
he
would
at
last
have
some
chance
of
talking
to
their
fair
guest
,
whom
the
Squire
had
as
yet
entirely
monopolized
,
in
the
way
he
usually
monopolized
any
stranger
who
would
lend
a
willing
and
fresh
ear
to
his
hobbies
.
But
the
musician
did
not
get
his
chance
that
evening
,
though
he
tried
very
hard
for
it
.
Jack
's
return
proved
but
a
doubtful
assistance
to
him
:
to
begin
with
,
it
caused
an
alteration
in
the
dinner-table
,
by
which
he
found
himself
out
of
the
range
of
her
conversation
;
it
also
made
the
conversation
in
the
drawing-room
afterwards
more
hopelessly
general
than
ever
,
for
they
all
sat
round
in
a
circle
and
listened
to
the
American
anecdotes
,
and
when
the
American
anecdotes
flagged
for
a
moment
Digby
had
to
go
to
the
piano
and
play
the
returned
wanderer
's
favorite
airs
,
while
the
hero
himself
took
the
opportunity
of
opening
a
desperate
flirtation
with
Lady
Joan
under
cover
of
the
crashing
chords
of
his
eldest
brother
.
The
musician
was
full
thirty
years
old
,
and
had
been
in
love
almost
as
many
times
as
he
had
photos
in
his
West
End
studio
;
like
his
father
,
it
was
only
the
trifling
circumstances
of
life
,
or
its
visions
,
that
seemed
to
him
to
be
worthy
of
serious
consideration
,
and
like
his
father
he
had
retained
his
boyish
temperament
past
the
age
when
such
a
temperament
is
sufficient
for
the
demands
of
circumstance
.
From
the
first
his
connection
with
Lady
Joan
had
been
unusual
.
She
had
not
begun
by
fascinating
him
,
and
he
had
not
begun
