cangive
it
back
to
society
again
.
Margaret
grew
depressed
;
she
was
anxious
to
settle
on
a
house
before
they
left
town
to
pay
their
annual
visit
to
Mrs.
Munt
.
She
enjoyed
this
visit
,
and
wanted
to
have
her
mind
at
ease
for
it
.
Swanage
,
though
dull
,
was
stable
,
and
this
year
she
longed
more
than
usual
for
its
fresh
air
and
for
the
magnificent
downs
that
guard
it
on
the
north
.
But
London
thwarted
her
;
in
its
atmosphere
she
could
not
concentrate
.
London
only
stimulates
,
it
cannot
sustain
;
and
Margaret
,
hurrying
over
its
surface
for
a
house
without
knowing
what
sort
of
a
house
she
wanted
,
was
paying
for
many
a
thrilling
sensation
in
the
past
.
She
could
not
even
break
loose
from
culture
,
and
her
time
was
wasted
by
concerts
which
it
would
be
a
sin
to
miss
,
and
invitations
which
it
would
never
do
to
refuse
.
At
last
she
grew
desperate
;
she
resolved
that
she
would
go
nowhere
and
be
at
home
to
no
one
until
she
found
a
house
,
and
broke
the
resolution
in
half
an
hour
.
Once
she
had
humorously
lamented
that
she
had
never
been
to
Simpson
's
restaurant
in
the
Strand
.
Now
a
note
arrived
from
Miss
Wilcox
,
asking
her
to
lunch
there
.
Mr.
Cahill
was
coming
,
and
the
three
would
have
such
a
jolly
chat
,
and
perhaps
end
up
at
the
Hippodrome
.
Margaret
had
no
strong
regard
for
Evie
,
and
no
desire
to
meet
her
fiancé
,
and
she
was
surprised
that
Helen
,
who
had
been
far
funnier
about
Simpson
's
,
had
not
been
asked
instead
.
But
the
invitation
touched
her
by
its
intimate
tone
.
She
must
know
Evie
Wilcox
better
than
she
supposed
,
and
declaring
that
she
"
simply
must
,
"
she
accepted
.
But
when
she
saw
Evie
at
the
entrance
of
the
restaurant
,
staring
fiercely
at
nothing
after
the
fashion
of
athletic
women
,
her
heart
failed
her
anew
.
Miss
Wilcox
had
changed
perceptibly
since
her
engagement
.
Her
voice
was
gruffer
,
her
manner
more
downright
,
and
she
was
inclined
to
patronize
the
more
foolish
virgin
.
Margaret
was
silly
enough
to
be
pained
at
this
.
Depressed
at
her
isolation
,
she
saw
not
only
houses
and
furniture
,
but
the
vessel
of
life
itself
slipping
past
her
,
with
people
like
Evie
and
Mr.
Cahill
on
board
.
There
are
moments
when
virtue
and
wisdom
fail
us
,
and
one
of
them
came
to
her
at
Simpson
's
in
the
Strand
.
As
she
trod
the
staircase
,
narrow
,
but
carpeted
thickly
,
as
she
entered
the
eating-room
,
where
saddles
of
mutton
were
being
trundled
up
to
expectant
clergymen
,
she
had
a
strong
,
if
erroneous
,
conviction
of
her
own
futility
,
and
wished
she
had
never
come
out
of
her
backwater
,
where
nothing
happened
except
art
and
literature
,
and
where
no
one
ever
got
married
or
succeeded
in
remaining
engaged
.
Then
came
a
little
surprise
.
"
Father
might
be
of
the
party
—
yes
,
Father
was
.
"
With
a
smile
of
pleasure
she
moved
forward
to
greet
him
,
and
her
feeling
of
loneliness
vanished
.
"
I
thought
I
'd
get
round
if
I
could
,
"
said
he
.
"
Evie
told
me
of
her
little
plan
,
so
I
just
slipped
in
and
secured
a
table
.
Always
secure
a
table
first
.
Evie
,
do
n't
pretend
you
want
to
sit
by
your
old
father
,
because
you
do
n't
.
Miss
Schlegel
,
come
in
my
side
,
out
of
pity
.
My
goodness
,
but
you
look
tired
!
Been
worrying
round
after
your
young
clerks
?
"
"
No
,
after
houses
,
"
said
Margaret
,
edging
past
him
into
the
box
.
"
I
'm
hungry
,
not
tired
;
I
want
to
eat
heaps
.
"
"
That
's
good
.
What
'll
you
have
?
"
"
Fish
pie
,
"
said
she
,
with
a
glance
at
the
menu
.
"
Fish
pie
!
Fancy
coming
for
fish
pie
to
Simpson
's
.
It
's
not
a
bit
the
thing
to
go
for
here
.
"
"
Go
for
something
for
me
,
then
,
"
said
Margaret
,
pulling
off
her
gloves
.
Her
spirits
were
rising
,
and
his
reference
to
Leonard
Bast
had
warmed
her
curiously
.
"
Saddle
of
mutton
,
"
said
he
after
profound
reflection
:
"
and
cider
to
drink
.
That
's
the
type
of
thing
.
I
like
this
place
,
for
a
joke
,
once
in
a
way
.
It
is
so
thoroughly
Old
English
.
Do
n't
you
agree
?
"
"
Yes
,
"
said
Margaret
,
who
did
n't
.
The
order
was
given
,
the
joint
rolled
up
,
and
the
carver
,
under
Mr.
Wilcox
's
direction
,
cut
the
meat
where
it
was
succulent
,
and
piled
their
plates
high
.
Mr.
Cahill
insisted
on
sirloin
,
but
admitted
that
he
had
made
a
mistake
later
on
.
He
and
Evie
soon
fell
into
a
conversation
of
the
"
No
,
I
did
n't
;
yes
,
you
did
"
type
—
conversation
which
,
though
fascinating
to
those
who
are
engaged
in
it
,
neither
desires
nor
deserves
the
attention
of
others
.
"
It
's
a
golden
rule
to
tip
the
carver
.
Tip
everywhere
's
my
motto
.
"
"
Perhaps
it
does
make
life
more
human
.
"
"
Then
the
fellows
know
one
again
.
Especially
in
the
East
,
if
you
tip
,
they
remember
you
from
year
's
end
to
year
's
end
.
"
Have
you
been
in
the
East
?
"
"
Oh
,
Greece
and
the
Levant
.
I
used
to
go
out
for
sport
and
business
to
Cyprus
;
some
military
society
of
a
sort
there
.
A
few
piastres
,
properly
distributed
,
help
to
keep
one
's
memory
green
.
But
you
,
of
course
,
think
this
shockingly
cynical
.
How
's
your
discussion
society
getting
on
?
Any
new
Utopias
lately
?
"
"
No
,
I
'm
house-hunting
,
Mr.
Wilcox
,
as
I
've
already
told
you
once
.
Do
you
know
of
any
houses
?
"
"
Afraid
I
do
n't
.
"
"
Well
,
what
's
the
point
of
being
practical
if
you
ca
n't
find
two
distressed
females
a
house
?
We
merely
want
a
small
house
with
large
rooms
,
and
plenty
of
them
.
"
"
Evie
,
I
like
that
!
Miss
Schlegel
expects
me
to
turn
house
agent
for
her
!
"
"
What
's
that
,
Father
?
"
I
want
a
new
home
in
September
,
and
someone
must
find
it
.
I
ca
n't
.
"
"
Percy
,
do
you
know
of
anything
?
"
"
I
ca
n't
say
I
do
,
"
said
Mr.
Cahill
.
"
How
like
you
!
You
're
never
any
good
.
"
"
Never
any
good
.
Just
listen
to
her
!
Never
any
good
.
Oh
,
come
!
"
"
Well
,
you
are
n't
.
Miss
Schlegel
,
is
he
?
"
The
torrent
of
their
love
,
having
splashed
these
drops
at
Margaret
,
swept
away
on
its
habitual
course
.
She
sympathized
with
it
now
,
for
a
little
comfort
had
restored
her
geniality
.
Speech
and
silence
pleased
her
equally
,
and
while
Mr.
Wilcox
made
some
preliminary
inquiries
about
cheese
,
her
eyes
surveyed
the
restaurant
,
and
admired
its
well-calculated
tributes
to
the
solidity
of
our
past
.
Though
no
more
Old
English
than
the
works
of
Kipling
,
it
had
selected
its
reminiscences
so
adroitly
that
her
criticism
was
lulled
,
and
the
guests
whom
it
was
nourishing
for
imperial
purposes
bore
the
outer
semblance
of
Parson
Adams
or
Tom
Jones
.
Scraps
of
their
talk
jarred
oddly
on
the
ear
.
"
Right
you
are
!
I
'll
cable
out
to
Uganda
this
evening
,
"
came
from
the
table
behind
.
"
Their
Emperor
wants
war
;
well
,
let
him
have
it
,
"
was
the
opinion
of
a
clergyman
.
She
smiled
at
such
incongruities
.
"
Next
time
,
"
she
said
to
Mr.
Wilcox
,
"
you
shall
come
to
lunch
with
me
at
Mr.
Eustace
Miles
's
.
"
"
With
pleasure
.
"
"
No
,
you
'd
hate
it
,
"
she
said
,
pushing
her
glass
towards
him
for
some
more
cider
.
"
It
's
all
proteids
and
body-buildings
,
and
people
come
up
to
you
and
beg
your
pardon
,
but
you
have
such
a
beautiful
aura
.
"
"
A
what
?
"
"
Never
heard
of
an
aura
?
Oh
,
happy
,
happy
man
!
I
scrub
at
mine
for
hours
.
Nor
of
an
astral
plane
?
"
He
had
heard
of
astral
planes
,
and
censured
them
.
"
Just
so
.
Luckily
it
was
Helen
's
aura
,
not
mine
,
and
she
had
to
chaperone
it
and
do
the
politenesses
.
I
just
sat
with
my
handkerchief
in
my
mouth
till
the
man
went
.
"
"
Funny
experiences
seem
to
come
to
you
two
girls
.
No
one
's
ever
asked
me
about
my
—
what
d'ye
call
it
?
Perhaps
I
've
not
got
one
.
"
"
You
're
bound
to
have
one
,
but
it
may
be
such
a
terrible
colour
that
no
one
dares
mention
it
.
"
"
Tell
me
,
though
,
Miss
Schlegel
,
do
you
really
believe
in
the
supernatural
and
all
that
?
"
"
Too
difficult
a
question
.
"
"
Why
's
that
?
Gruyère
or
Stilton
?
"
"
Gruyère
,
please
.
"
"
Better
have
Stilton
.
"
"
Stilton
.
Because
,
though
I
do
n't
believe
in
auras
,
and
think
Theosophy
's
only
a
halfway-house
—
"
"
—
Yet
there
may
be
something
in
it
all
the
same
,
"
he
concluded
,
with
a
frown
.
"
Not
even
that
.
It
may
be
halfway
in
the
wrong
direction
.
I
ca
n't
explain
.
I
do
n't
believe
in
all
these
fads
,
and
yet
I
do
n't
like
saying
that
I
do
n't
believe
in
them
.
"
He
seemed
unsatisfied
,
and
said
:
"
So
you
would
n't
give
me
your
word
that
you
do
n't
hold
with
astral
bodies
and
all
the
rest
of
it
?
"
"
I
could
,
"
said
Margaret
,
surprised
that
the
point
was
of
any
importance
to
him
.
"
Indeed
,
I
will
.
When
I
talked
about
scrubbing
my
aura
,
I
was
only
trying
to
be
funny
.
But
why
do
you
want
this
settled
?
"
"
I
do
n't
know
.
"
"
Now
,
Mr.
Wilcox
,
you
do
know
.
"
"
Yes
,
I
am
,
"
"
No
,
you
're
not
,
"
burst
from
the
lovers
opposite
.
Margaret
was
silent
for
a
moment
,
and
then
changed
the
subject
.
"
How
's
your
house
?
"
"
Much
the
same
as
when
you
honoured
it
last
week
.
"
"
I
do
n't
mean
Ducie
Street
.
Howards
End
,
of
course
.
"
"
Why
'
of
course
'
?
"
"
Ca
n't
you
turn
out
your
tenant
and
let
it
to
us
?
We
're
nearly
demented
.
"
"
Let
me
think
.
I
wish
I
could
help
you
.
But
I
thought
you
wanted
to
be
in
town
.
One
bit
of
advice
:
fix
your
district
,
then
fix
your
price
,
and
then
do
n't
budge
.
That
's
how
I
got
both
Ducie
Street
and
Oniton
.
I
said
to
myself
,
'
I
mean
to
be
exactly
here
,
'
and
I
was
,
and
Oniton
's
a
place
in
a
thousand
.
"
"
But
I
do
budge
.
Gentlemen
seem
to
mesmerize
houses
—
cow
them
with
an
eye
,
and
up
they
come
,
trembling
.
Ladies
ca
n't
.
It
's
the
houses
that
are
mesmerizing
me
.
I
've
no
control
over
the
saucy
things
.
Houses
are
alive
.
No
?
"
"
I
'm
out
of
my
depth
,
"
he
said
,
and
added
:
"
Did
n't
you
talk
rather
like
that
to
your
office
boy
?
"
"
Did
I
?
—
I
mean
I
did
,
more
or
less
.
I
talk
the
same
way
to
every
one
—
or
try
to
.
"
"
Yes
,
I
know
.
And
how
much
do
you
suppose
that
he
understood
of
it
?
"
"
That
's
his
lookout
.
I
do
n't
believe
in
suiting
my
conversation
to
my
company
.
One
can
doubtless
hit
upon
some
medium
of
exchange
that
seems
to
do
well
enough
,
but
it
's
no
more
like
the
real
thing
than
money
is
like
food
.
There
's
no
nourishment
in
it
.
You
pass
it
to
the
lower
classes
,
and
they
pass
it
back
to
you
,
and
this
you
call
'
social
intercourse
'
or
'
mutual
endeavour
,
'
when
it
's
mutual
priggishness
if
it
's
anything
.
Our
friends
at
Chelsea
do
n't
see
this
.
They
say
one
ought
to
be
at
all
costs
intelligible
,
and
sacrifice
—
"
"
Lower
classes
,
"
interrupted
Mr.
Wilcox
,
as
it
were
thrusting
his
hand
into
her
speech
.
"
Well
,
you
do
admit
that
there
are
rich
and
poor
.
That
's
something
.
"
Margaret
could
not
reply
.
Was
he
incredibly
stupid
,
or
did
he
understand
her
better
than
she
understood
herself
?
"
You
do
admit
that
,
if
wealth
was
divided
up
equally
,
in
a
few
years
there
would
be
rich
and
poor
again
just
the
same
.
The
hard-working
man
would
come
to
the
top
,
the
wastrel
sink
to
the
bottom
.
"
"
Every
one
admits
that
.
"
"
Your
Socialists
do
n't
.
"
"
My
Socialists
do
.
Yours
may
n't
;
but
I
strongly
suspect
yours
of
being
not
Socialists
,
but
ninepins
,
which
you
have
constructed
for
your
own
amusement
.
I
ca
n't
imagine
any
living
creature
who
would
bowl
over
quite
so
easily
.
"
He
would
have
resented
this
had
she
not
been
a
woman
.
But
women
may
say
anything
—
it
was
one
of
his
holiest
beliefs
—
and
he
only
retorted
,
with
a
gay
smile
:
"
I
do
n't
care
.
You
've
made
two
damaging
admissions
,
and
I
'm
heartily
with
you
in
both
.
"
In
time
they
finished
lunch
,
and
Margaret
,
who
had
excused
herself
from
the
Hippodrome
,
took
her
leave
.
Evie
had
scarcely
addressed
her
,
and
she
suspected
that
the
entertainment
had
been
planned
by
the
father
.
He
and
she
were
advancing
out
of
their
respective
families
towards
a
more
intimate
acquaintance
.
It
had
begun
long
ago
.
She
had
been
his
wife
's
friend
,
and
,
as
such
,
he
had
given
her
that
silver
vinaigrette
as
a
memento
.
It
was
pretty
of
him
to
have
given
that
vinaigrette
,
and
he
had
always
preferred
her
to
Helen
—
unlike
most
men
.
But
the
advance
had
been
astonishing
lately
.
They
had
done
more
in
a
week
than
in
two
years
,
and
were
really
beginning
to
know
each
other
.
She
did
not
forget
his
promise
to
sample
Eustace
Miles
,
and
asked
him
as
soon
as
she
could
secure
Tibby
as
his
chaperon
.
He
came
,
and
partook
of
body-building
dishes
with
humility
.
Next
morning
the
Schlegels
left
for
Swanage
.
They
had
not
succeeded
in
finding
a
new
home
.
Chapter
18
As
they
were
seated
at
Aunt
Juley
's
breakfast-table
at
The
Bays
,
parrying
her
excessive
hospitality
and
enjoying
the
view
of
the
bay
,
a
letter
came
for
Margaret
and
threw
her
into
perturbation
.
It
was
from
Mr.
Wilcox
.
It
announced
an
"
important
change
"
in
his
plans
.
Owing
to
Evie
's
marriage
,
he
had
decided
to
give
up
his
house
in
Ducie
Street
,
and
was
willing
to
let
it
on
a
yearly
tenancy
.
It
was
a
businesslike
letter
,
and
stated
frankly
what
he
would
do
for
them
and
what
he
would
not
do
.
Also
the
rent
.
If
they
approved
,
Margaret
was
to
come
up
at
once
—
the
words
were
underlined
,
as
is
necessary
when
dealing
with
women
—
and
to
go
over
the
house
with
him
.
If
they
disapproved
,
a
wire
would
oblige
,
as
he
should
put
it
into
the
hands
of
an
agent
.
The
letter
perturbed
,
because
she
was
not
sure
what
it
meant
.
If
he
liked
her
,
if
he
had
manoeuvred
to
get
her
to
Simpson
's
,
might
this
be
a
manoeuvre
to
get
her
to
London
,
and
result
in
an
offer
of
marriage
?
She
put
it
to
herself
as
indelicately
as
possible
,
in
the
hope
that
her
brain
would
cry
,
"
Rubbish
,
you
're
a
self-conscious
fool
!
"
But
her
brain
only
tingled
a
little
and
was
silent
,
and
for
a
time
she
sat
gazing
at
the
mincing
waves
,
and
wondering
whether
the
news
would
seem
strange
to
the
others
.
As
soon
as
she
began
speaking
,
the
sound
of
her
own
voice
reassured
her
.
There
could
be
nothing
in
it
.
The
replies
also
were
typical
,
and
in
the
buff
of
conversation
her
fears
vanished
.
"
You
need
n't
go
though
—
"
began
her
hostess
.
"
I
need
n't
,
but
had
n't
I
better
?
It
's
really
getting
rather
serious
.
We
let
chance
after
chance
slip
,
and
the
end
of
it
is
we
shall
be
bundled
out
bag
and
baggage
into
the
street
.
We
do
n't
know
what
we
want
,
that
's
the
mischief
with
us
—
"
"
No
,
we
have
no
real
ties
,
"
said
Helen
,
helping
herself
to
toast
.
"
Sha
n't
I
go
up
to
town
today
,
take
the
house
if
it
's
the
least
possible
,
and
then
come
down
by
the
afternoon
train
tomorrow
,
and
start
enjoying
myself
.
I
shall
be
no
fun
to
myself
or
to
others
until
this
business
is
off
my
mind
.
"
"
But
you
wo
n't
do
anything
rash
,
Margaret
?
"
"
There
's
nothing
rash
to
do
.
"
"
Who
are
the
Wilcoxes
?
"
said
Tibby
,
a
question
that
sounds
silly
,
but
was
really
extremely
subtle
,
as
his
aunt
found
to
her
cost
when
she
tried
to
answer
it
.
"
I
do
n't
manage
the
Wilcoxes
;
I
do
n't
see
where
they
come
in
.
"
"
No
more
do
I
,
"
agreed
Helen
.
"
It
's
funny
that
we
just
do
n't
lose
sight
of
them
.
Out
of
all
our
hotel
acquaintances
,
Mr.
Wilcox
is
the
only
one
who
has
stuck
.
It
is
now
over
three
years
,
and
we
have
drifted
away
from
far
more
interesting
people
in
that
time
.
"
Interesting
people
do
n't
get
one
houses
.
"
"
Meg
,
if
you
start
in
your
honest-English
vein
,
I
shall
throw
the
treacle
at
you
.
"
"
It
's
a
better
vein
than
the
cosmopolitan
,
"
said
Margaret
,
getting
up
.
"
Now
,
children
,
which
is
it
to
be
?
You
know
the
Ducie
Street
house
.
Shall
I
say
yes
or
shall
I
say
no
?
Tibby
love
—
which
?
I
'm
specially
anxious
to
pin
you
both
.
"
"
It
all
depends
what
meaning
you
attach
to
the
word
'
possi
—
'
"
"
It
depends
on
nothing
of
the
sort
.
Say
'
yes
.
'
"
"
Say
'
no
.
'
"
Then
Margaret
spoke
rather
seriously
.
"
I
think
,
"
she
said
,
"
that
our
race
is
degenerating
.
We
cannot
settle
even
this
little
thing
;
what
will
it
be
like
when
we
have
to
settle
a
big
one
?
"
"
It
will
be
as
easy
as
eating
,
"
returned
Helen
.
"
I
was
thinking
of
Father
.
How
could
he
settle
to
leave
Germany
as
he
did
,
when
he
had
fought
for
it
as
a
young
man
,
and
all
his
feelings
and
friends
were
Prussian
?
How
could
he
break
loose
with
Patriotism
and
begin
aiming
at
something
else
?
It
would
have
killed
me
.
When
he
was
nearly
forty
he
could
change
countries
and
ideals
—
and
we
,
at
our
age
,
ca
n't
change
houses
.
It
's
humiliating
.
"
"
Your
father
may
have
been
able
to
change
countries
,
"
said
Mrs.
Munt
with
asperity
,
"
and
that
may
or
may
not
be
a
good
thing
.
But
he
could
change
houses
no
better
than
you
can
,
in
fact
,
much
worse
.
Never
shall
I
forget
what
poor
Emily
suffered
in
the
move
from
Manchester
.
"
"
I
knew
it
,
"
cried
Helen
.
"
I
told
you
so
.
It
is
the
little
things
one
bungles
at
.
The
big
,
real
ones
are
nothing
when
they
come
.
"
"
Bungle
,
my
dear
!
You
are
too
little
to
recollect
—
in
fact
,
you
were
n't
there
.
But
the
furniture
was
actually
in
the
vans
and
on
the
move
before
the
lease
for
Wickham
Place
was
signed
,
and
Emily
took
train
with
baby
—
who
was
Margaret
then
—
and
the
smaller
luggage
for
London
,
without
so
much
as
knowing
where
her
new
home
would
be
.
Getting
away
from
that
house
may
be
hard
,
but
it
is
nothing
to
the
misery
that
we
all
went
through
getting
you
into
it
.
"
Helen
,
with
her
mouth
full
,
cried
:
"
And
that
's
the
man
who
beat
the
Austrians
,
and
the
Danes
,
and
the
French
,
and
who
beat
the
Germans
that
were
inside
himself
.
And
we
're
like
him
.
"
"
Speak
for
yourself
,
"
said
Tibby
.
"
Remember
that
I
am
cosmopolitan
,
please
.
"
"
Helen
may
be
right
.
"
"
Of
course
she
's
right
,
"
said
Helen
.
Helen
might
be
right
,
but
she
did
not
go
up
to
London
.
Margaret
did
that
.
An
interrupted
holiday
is
the
worst
of
the
minor
worries
,
and
one
may
be
pardoned
for
feeling
morbid
when
a
business
letter
snatches
one
away
from
the
sea
and
friends
.
She
could
not
believe
that
her
father
had
ever
felt
the
same
.
Her
eyes
had
been
troubling
her
lately
,
so
that
she
could
not
read
in
the
train
,
and
it
bored
her
to
look
at
the
landscape
,
which
she
had
seen
but
yesterday
.
At
Southampton
she
"
waved
"
to
Frieda
:
Frieda
was
on
her
way
down
to
join
them
at
Swanage
,
and
Mrs.
Munt
had
calculated
that
their
trains
would
cross
.
But
Frieda
was
looking
the
other
way
,
and
Margaret
travelled
on
to
town
feeling
solitary
and
old-maidish
.
How
like
an
old
maid
to
fancy
that
Mr.
Wilcox
was
courting
her
!
She
had
once
visited
a
spinster
—
poor
,
silly
,
and
unattractive
—
whose
mania
it
was
that
every
man
who
approached
her
fell
in
love
.
How
Margaret
's
heart
had
bled
for
the
deluded
thing
!
How
she
had
lectured
,
reasoned
,
and
in
despair
acquiesced
!
"
I
may
have
been
deceived
by
the
curate
,
my
dear
,
but
the
young
fellow
who
brings
the
midday
post
really
is
fond
of
me
,
and
has
,
as
a
matter
fact
—
"
It
had
always
seemed
to
her
the
most
hideous
corner
of
old
age
,
yet
she
might
be
driven
into
it
herself
by
the
mere
pressure
of
virginity
.
Mr.
Wilcox
met
her
at
Waterloo
himself
.
She
felt
certain
that
he
was
not
the
same
as
usual
;
for
one
thing
,
he
took
offence
at
everything
she
said
.
"
This
is
awfully
kind
of
you
,
"
she
began
,
"
but
I
'm
afraid
it
's
not
going
to
do
.
The
house
has
not
been
built
that
suits
the
Schlegel
family
.
"
"
What
!
Have
you
come
up
determined
not
to
deal
?
"
"
Not
exactly
.
"
"
Not
exactly
?
In
that
case
let
's
be
starting
.
"
She
lingered
to
admire
the
motor
,
which
was
new
and
a
fairer
creature
than
the
vermilion
giant
that
had
borne
Aunt
Juley
to
her
doom
three
years
before
.
"
Presumably
it
's
very
beautiful
,
"
she
said
.
"
How
do
you
like
it
,
Crane
?
"
"
Come
,
let
's
be
starting
,
"
repeated
her
host
.
"
How
on
earth
did
you
know
that
my
chauffeur
was
called
Crane
?
"
"
Why
,
I
know
Crane
:
I
've
been
for
a
drive
with
Evie
once
.
I
know
that
you
've
got
a
parlourmaid
called
Milton
.
I
know
all
sorts
of
things
.
"
"
Evie
!
"
he
echoed
in
injured
tones
.
"
You
wo
n't
see
her
.
She
's
gone
out
with
Cahill
.
It
's
no
fun
,
I
can
tell
you
,
being
left
so
much
alone
.
I
've
got
my
work
all
day
—
indeed
,
a
great
deal
too
much
of
it
—
but
when
I
come
home
in
the
evening
,
I
tell
you
,
I
ca
n't
stand
the
house
.
"
"
In
my
absurd
way
,
I
'm
lonely
too
,
"
Margaret
replied
.
"
It
's
heart-breaking
to
leave
one
's
old
home
.
I
scarcely
remember
anything
before
Wickham
Place
,
and
Helen
and
Tibby
were
born
there
.
Helen
says
—
"
"
You
,
too
,
feel
lonely
?
"
"
Horribly
.
Hullo
,
Parliament
's
back
!
"
Mr.
Wilcox
glanced
at
Parliament
contemptuously
.
The
more
important
ropes
of
life
lay
elsewhere
.
"
Yes
,
they
are
talking
again
.
"
said
he
.
"
But
you
were
going
to
say
—
"
"
Only
some
rubbish
about
furniture
.
Helen
says
it
alone
endures
while
men
and
houses
perish
,
and
that
in
the
end
the
world
will
be
a
desert
of
chairs
and
sofas
—
just
imagine
it
!
—
rolling
through
infinity
with
no
one
to
sit
upon
them
.
"
"
Your
sister
always
likes
her
little
joke
.
"
She
says
'
Yes
,
'
my
brother
says
'
No
,
'
to
Ducie
Street
.
It
's
no
fun
helping
us
,
Mr.
Wilcox
,
I
assure
you
.
"
"
You
are
not
as
unpractical
as
you
pretend
.
I
shall
never
believe
it
.
"
Margaret
laughed
.
But
she
was
—
quite
as
unpractical
.
She
could
not
concentrate
on
details
.
Parliament
,
the
Thames
,
the
irresponsive
chauffeur
,
would
flash
into
the
field
of
house-hunting
,
and
all
demand
some
comment
or
response
.
It
is
impossible
to
see
modern
life
steadily
and
see
it
whole
,
and
she
had
chosen
to
see
it
whole
.
Mr.
Wilcox
saw
steadily
.
He
never
bothered
over
the
mysterious
or
the
private
.
The
Thames
might
run
inland
from
the
sea
,
the
chauffeur
might
conceal
all
passion
and
philosophy
beneath
his
unhealthy
skin
.
They
knew
their
own
business
,
and
he
knew
his
.
Yet
she
liked
being
with
him
.
He
was
not
a
rebuke
,
but
a
stimulus
,
and
banished
morbidity
.
Some
twenty
years
her
senior
,
he
preserved
a
gift
that
she
supposed
herself
to
have
already
lost
—
not
youth
's
creative
power
,
but
its
self-confidence
and
optimism
.
He
was
so
sure
that
it
was
a
very
pleasant
world
.
His
complexion
was
robust
,
his
hair
had
receded
but
not
thinned
,
the
thick
moustache
and
the
eyes
that
Helen
had
compared
to
brandy-balls
had
an
agreeable
menace
in
them
,
whether
they
were
turned
towards
the
slums
or
towards
the
stars
.
Some
day
—
in
the
millennium
—
there
may
be
no
need
for
his
type
.
At
present
,
homage
is
due
to
it
from
those
who
think
themselves
superior
,
and
who
possibly
are
.
"
"
At
all
events
you
responded
to
my
telegram
promptly
,
"
he
remarked
.
"
Oh
,
even
I
know
a
good
thing
when
I
see
it
.
"
"
I
'm
glad
you
do
n't
despise
the
goods
of
this
world
.
"
"
Heavens
,
no
!
Only
idiots
and
prigs
do
that
.
"
"
I
am
glad
,
very
glad
,
"
he
repeated
,
suddenly
softening
and
turning
to
her
,
as
if
the
remark
had
pleased
him
.
"
There
is
so
much
cant
talked
in
would-be
intellectual
circles
.
I
am
glad
you
do
n't
share
it
.
Self-denial
is
all
very
well
as
a
means
of
strengthening
the
character
.
But
I
ca
n't
stand
those
people
who
run
down
comforts
.
They
have
usually
some
axe
to
grind
.
Can
you
?
"
"
Comforts
are
of
two
kinds
,
"
said
Margaret
,
who
was
keeping
herself
in
hand
—
"
those
we
can
share
with
others
,
like
fire
,
weather
,
or
music
;
and
those
we
ca
n't
—
food
,
for
instance
.
It
depends
.
"
"
I
mean
reasonable
comforts
,
of
course
.
I
should
n't
like
to
think
that
you
—
"
He
bent
nearer
;
the
sentence
died
unfinished
.
Margaret
's
head
turned
very
stupid
,
and
the
inside
of
it
seemed
to
revolve
like
the
beacon
in
a
lighthouse
.
He
did
not
kiss
her
,
for
the
hour
was
half-past
twelve
,
and
the
car
was
passing
by
the
stables
of
Buckingham
Palace
.
But
the
atmosphere
was
so
charged
with
emotion
that
people
only
seemed
to
exist
on
her
account
,
and
she
was
surprised
that
Crane
did
not
realize
this
,
and
turn
round
.
Idiot
though
she
might
be
,
surely
Mr.
Wilcox
was
more
—
how
should
one
put
it
?
—
more
psychological
than
usual
.
Always
a
good
judge
of
character
for
business
purposes
,
he
seemed
this
afternoon
to
enlarge
his
field
,
and
to
note
qualities
outside
neatness
,
obedience
,
and
decision
.
"
I
want
to
go
over
the
whole
house
,
"
she
announced
when
they
arrived
.
"
As
soon
as
I
get
back
to
Swanage
,
which
will
be
tomorrow
afternoon
,
I
'll
talk
it
over
once
more
with
Helen
and
Tibby
,
and
wire
you
'
yes
'
or
'
no
.
'
"
"
Right
.
The
dining-room
.
"
And
they
began
their
survey
.
The
dining-room
was
big
,
but
over-furnished
.
Chelsea
would
have
moaned
aloud
.
Mr.
Wilcox
had
eschewed
those
decorative
schemes
that
wince
,
and
relent
,
and
refrain
,
and
achieve
beauty
by
sacrificing
comfort
and
pluck
.
After
so
much
self-colour
and
self-denial
,
Margaret
viewed
with
relief
the
sumptuous
dado
,
the
frieze
,
the
gilded
wall-paper
,
amid
whose
foliage
parrots
sang
.
It
would
never
do
with
her
own
furniture
,
but
those
heavy
chairs
,
that
immense
side-board
loaded
with
presentation
plate
,
stood
up
against
its
pressure
like
men
.
The
room
suggested
men
,
and
Margaret
,
keen
to
derive
the
modern
capitalist
from
the
warriors
and
hunters
of
the
past
,
saw
it
as
an
ancient
guest-hall
,
where
the
lord
sat
at
meat
among
his
thanes
.
Even
the
Bible
—
the
Dutch
Bible
that
Charles
had
brought
back
from
the
Boer
War
—
fell
into
position
.
Such
a
room
admitted
loot
.
"
Now
the
entrance-hall
.
"
The
entrance-hall
was
paved
.
"
Here
we
fellows
smoke
.
"
We
fellows
smoked
in
chairs
of
maroon
leather
.
It
was
as
if
a
motor-car
had
spawned
.
"
Oh
,
jolly
!
"
said
Margaret
,
sinking
into
one
of
them
.
"
You
do
like
it
?
"
he
said
,
fixing
his
eyes
on
her
upturned
face
,
and
surely
betraying
an
almost
intimate
note
.
"
It
's
all
rubbish
not
making
oneself
comfortable
.
Is
n't
it
?
"
"
Ye-es
.
Semi-rubbish
.
Are
those
Cruikshanks
?
"
"
Gillrays
.
Shall
we
go
on
upstairs
?
"
"
Does
all
this
furniture
come
from
Howards
End
?
"
"
The
Howards
End
furniture
has
all
gone
to
Oniton
.
"
"
Does
—
However
,
I
'm
concerned
with
the
house
,
not
the
furniture
.
How
big
is
this
smoking-room
?
"
"
Thirty
by
fifteen
.
No
,
wait
a
minute
.
Fifteen
and
a
half
?
.
"
"
Ah
,
well
.
Mr.
Wilcox
,
are
n't
you
ever
amused
at
the
solemnity
with
which
we
middle
classes
approach
the
subject
of
houses
?
"
They
proceeded
to
the
drawing-room
.
Chelsea
managed
better
here
.
It
was
sallow
and
ineffective
.
One
could
visualize
the
ladies
withdrawing
to
it
,
while
their
lords
discussed
life
's
realities
below
,
to
the
accompaniment
of
cigars
.
Had
Mrs.
Wilcox
's
drawing-room
looked
thus
at
Howards
End
?
Just
as
this
thought
entered
Margaret
's
brain
,
Mr.
Wilcox
did
ask
her
to
be
his
wife
,
and
the
knowledge
that
she
had
been
right
so
overcame
her
that
she
nearly
fainted
.
But
the
proposal
was
not
to
rank
among
the
world
's
great
love
scenes
.
"
Miss
Schlegel
"
—
his
voice
was
firm
—
"
I
have
had
you
up
on
false
pretences
.
I
want
to
speak
about
a
much
more
serious
matter
than
a
house
.
"
Margaret
almost
answered
:
"
I
know
—
"
"
Could
you
be
induced
to
share
my
—
is
it
probable
—
"
"
Oh
,
Mr.
Wilcox
!
"
she
interrupted
,
holding
the
piano
and
averting
her
eyes
.
"
I
see
,
I
see
.
I
will
write
to
you
afterwards
if
I
may
.
"
He
began
to
stammer
.
"
Miss
Schlegel
—
Margaret
—
you
do
n't
understand
.
"
"
Oh
yes
!
Indeed
,
yes
!
"
said
Margaret
.
"
I
am
asking
you
to
be
my
wife
.
"
So
deep
already
was
her
sympathy
,
that
when
he
said
,
"
I
am
asking
you
to
be
my
wife
,
"
she
made
herself
give
a
little
start
.
She
must
show
surprise
if
he
expected
it
.
An
immense
joy
came
over
her
.
It
was
indescribable
.
It
had
nothing
to
do
with
humanity
,
and
most
resembled
the
all-pervading
happiness
of
fine
weather
.
Fine
weather
is
due
to
the
sun
,
but
Margaret
could
think
of
no
central
radiance
here
.
She
stood
in
his
drawing-room
happy
,
and
longing
to
give
happiness
.
On
leaving
him
she
realized
that
the
central
radiance
had
been
love
.
"
You
are
n't
offended
,
Miss
Schlegel
?
"
"
How
could
I
be
offended
?
"
There
was
a
moment
's
pause
.
He
was
anxious
to
get
rid
of
her
,
and
she
knew
it
.
She
had
too
much
intuition
to
look
at
him
as
he
struggled
for
possessions
that
money
cannot
buy
.
He
desired
comradeship
and
affection
,
but
he
feared
them
,
and
she
,
who
had
taught
herself
only
to
desire
,
and
could
have
clothed
the
struggle
with
beauty
,
held
back
,
and
hesitated
with
him
.
"
Good-bye
,
"
she
continued
.
"
You
will
have
a
letter
from
me
—
I
am
going
back
to
Swanage
tomorrow
.
"
Thank
you
.
"
"
Good-bye
,
and
it
's
you
I
thank
.
"
"
I
may
order
the
motor
round
,
may
n't
I
?
"
"
That
would
be
most
kind
.
"
"
I
wish
I
had
written
instead
.
Ought
I
to
have
written
?
"
"
Not
at
all
.
"
"
There
's
just
one
question
—
"
She
shook
her
head
.
He
looked
a
little
bewildered
,
and
they
parted
.
They
parted
without
shaking
hands
:
she
had
kept
the
interview
,
for
his
sake
,
in
tints
of
the
quietest
grey
.
Yet
she
thrilled
with
happiness
ere
she
reached
her
own
house
.
Others
had
loved
her
in
the
past
,
if
one
may
apply
to
their
brief
desires
so
grave
a
word
,
but
those
others
had
been
"
ninnies
"
—
young
men
who
had
nothing
to
do
,
old
men
who
could
find
nobody
better
.
And
she
had
often
"
loved
,
"
too
,
but
only
so
far
as
the
facts
of
sex
demanded
:
mere
yearnings
for
the
masculine
,
to
be
dismissed
for
what
they
were
worth
,
with
a
smile
.
Never
before
had
her
personality
been
touched
.
She
was
not
young
or
very
rich
,
and
it
amazed
her
that
a
man
of
any
standing
should
take
her
seriously
.
As
she
sat
trying
to
do
accounts
in
her
empty
house
,
amidst
beautiful
pictures
and
noble
books
,
waves
of
emotion
broke
,
as
if
a
tide
of
passion
was
flowing
through
the
night
air
.
She
shook
her
head
,
tried
to
concentrate
her
attention
,
and
failed
.
In
vain
did
she
repeat
:
"
But
I
've
been
through
this
sort
of
thing
before
.
"
She
had
never
been
through
it
;
the
big
machinery
,
as
opposed
to
the
little
,
had
been
set
in
motion
,
and
the
idea
that
Mr.
Wilcox
loved
,
obsessed
her
before
she
came
to
love
him
in
return
.
She
would
come
to
no
decision
yet
.
"
Oh
,
sir
,
this
is
so
sudden
"
—
that
prudish
phrase
exactly
expressed
her
when
her
time
came
.
Premonitions
are
not
preparation
.
She
must
examine
more
closely
her
own
nature
and
his
;
she
must
talk
it
over
judicially
with
Helen
.
It
had
been
a
strange
love-scene
—
the
central
radiance
unacknowledged
from
first
to
last
.
She
,
in
his
place
,
would
have
said
"
Ich
liebe
dich
,
"
but
perhaps
it
was
not
his
habit
to
open
the
heart
.
He
might
have
done
it
if
she
had
pressed
him
—
as
a
matter
of
duty
,
perhaps
;
England
expects
every
man
to
open
his
heart
once
;
but
the
effort
would
have
jarred
him
,
and
never
,
if
she
could
avoid
it
,
should
he
lose
those
defences
that
he
had
chosen
to
raise
against
the
world
.
He
must
never
be
bothered
with
emotional
talk
,
or
with
a
display
of
sympathy
.
He
was
an
elderly
man
now
,
and
it
would
be
futile
and
impudent
to
correct
him
.
Mrs.
Wilcox
strayed
in
and
out
,
ever
a
welcome
ghost
;
surveying
the
scene
,
thought
Margaret
,
without
one
hint
of
bitterness
.
Chapter
19
If
one
wanted
to
show
a
foreigner
England
,
perhaps
the
wisest
course
would
be
to
take
him
to
the
final
section
of
the
Purbeck
Hills
,
and
stand
him
on
their
summit
,
a
few
miles
to
the
east
of
Corfe
.
Then
system
after
system
of
our
island
would
roll
together
under
his
feet
.
Beneath
him
is
the
valley
of
the
Frome
,
and
all
the
wild
lands
that
come
tossing
down
from
Dorchester
,
black
and
gold
,
to
mirror
their
gorse
in
the
expanses
of
Poole
.
The
valley
of
the
Stour
is
beyond
,
unaccountable
stream
,
dirty
at
Blandford
,
pure
at
Wimborne
—
the
Stour
,
sliding
out
of
fat
fields
,
to
marry
the
Avon
beneath
the
tower
of
Christchurch
.
The
valley
of
the
Avon
—
invisible
,
but
far
to
the
north
the
trained
eye
may
see
Clearbury
Ring
that
guards
it
,
and
the
imagination
may
leap
beyond
that
on
to
Salisbury
Plain
itself
,
and
beyond
the
Plain
to
all
the
glorious
downs
of
Central
England
.
Nor
is
Suburbia
absent
.
Bournemouth
's
ignoble
coast
cowers
to
the
right
,
heralding
the
pine-trees
that
mean
,
for
all
their
beauty
,
red
houses
,
and
the
Stock
Exchange
,
and
extend
to
the
gates
of
London
itself
.
So
tremendous
is
the
City
's
trail
!
But
the
cliffs
of
Freshwater
it
shall
never
touch
,
and
the
island
will
guard
the
Island
's
purity
till
the
end
of
time
.
Seen
from
the
west
,
the
Wight
is
beautiful
beyond
all
laws
of
beauty
.
It
is
as
if
a
fragment
of
England
floated
forward
to
greet
the
foreigner
—
chalk
of
our
chalk
,
turf
of
our
turf
,
epitome
of
what
will
follow
.
And
behind
the
fragment
lies
Southampton
,
hostess
to
the
nations
,
and
Portsmouth
,
a
latent
fire
,
and
all
around
it
,
with
double
and
treble
collision
of
tides
,
swirls
the
sea
.
How
many
villages
appear
in
this
view
!
How
many
castles
!
How
many
churches
,
vanished
or
triumphant
!
How
many
ships
,
railways
,
and
roads
!
What
incredible
variety
of
men
working
beneath
that
lucent
sky
to
what
final
end
!
The
reason
fails
,
like
a
wave
on
the
Swanage
beach
;
the
imagination
swells
,
spreads
,
and
deepens
,
until
it
becomes
geographic
and
encircles
England
.
So
Frieda
Mosebach
,
now
Frau
Architect
Liesecke
,
and
mother
to
her
husband
's
baby
,
was
brought
up
to
these
heights
to
be
impressed
,
and
,
after
a
prolonged
gaze
,
she
said
that
the
hills
were
more
swelling
here
than
in
Pomerania
,
which
was
true
,
but
did
not
seem
to
Mrs.
Munt
apposite
.
Poole
Harbour
was
dry
,
which
led
her
to
praise
the
absence
of
muddy
foreshore
at
Friedrich
Wilhelms
Bad
,
Rügen
,
where
beech-trees
hang
over
the
tideless
Baltic
,
and
cows
may
contemplate
the
brine
.
Rather
unhealthy
Mrs.
Munt
thought
this
would
be
,
water
being
safer
when
it
moved
about
.
"
And
your
English
lakes
—
Vindermere
,
Grasmere
—
are
they
,
then
,
unhealthy
?
"
"
No
,
Frau
Liesecke
;
but
that
is
because
they
are
fresh
water
,
and
different
.
Salt
water
ought
to
have
tides
,
and
go
up
and
down
a
great
deal
,
or
else
it
smells
.
Look
,
for
instance
,
at
an
aquarium
.
"
"
An
aquarium
!
Oh
,
Meesis
Munt
,
you
mean
to
tell
me
that
fresh
aquariums
stink
less
than
salt
?
Why
,
when
Victor
,
my
brother-in-law
,
collected
many
tadpoles
—
"
"
You
are
not
to
say
'
stink
,
'
"
interrupted
Helen
;
"
at
least
,
you
may
say
it
,
but
you
must
pretend
you
are
being
funny
while
you
say
it
.
"
"
Then
'
smell
.
'
And
the
mud
of
your
Pool
down
there
—
does
it
not
smell
,
or
may
I
say
'
stink
,
ha
,
ha
'
?
"
"
There
always
has
been
mud
in
Poole
Harbour
,
"
said
Mrs.
Munt
,
with
a
slight
frown
.
"
The
rivers
bring
it
down
,
and
a
most
valuable
oyster-fishery
depends
upon
it
.
"
"
Yes
,
that
is
so
,
"
conceded
Frieda
;
and
another
international
incident
was
closed
.
"
'
Bournemouth
is
,
'
"
resumed
their
hostess
,
quoting
a
local
rhyme
to
which
she
was
much
attached
—
"
'
Bournemouth
is
,
Poole
was
,
and
Swanage
is
to
be
the
most
important
town
of
all
and
biggest
of
the
three
.
'
Now
,
Frau
Liesecke
,
I
have
shown
you
Bournemouth
,
and
I
have
shown
you
Poole
,
so
let
us
walk
backward
a
little
,
and
look
down
again
at
Swanage
.
"
"
Aunt
Juley
,
would
n't
that
be
Meg
's
train
?
"
A
tiny
puff
of
smoke
had
been
circling
the
harbour
,
and
now
was
bearing
southwards
towards
them
over
the
black
and
the
gold
.
"
Oh
,
dearest
Margaret
,
I
do
hope
she
wo
n't
be
overtired
.
"
"
Oh
,
I
do
wonder
—
I
do
wonder
whether
she
's
taken
the
house
.
"
"
I
hope
she
has
n't
been
hasty
.
"
"
So
do
I
—
oh
,
so
do
I
.
"
"
Will
it
be
as
beautiful
as
Wickham
Place
?
"
Frieda
asked
.
"
I
should
think
it
would
.
Trust
Mr.
Wilcox
for
doing
himself
proud
.
All
those
Ducie
Street
houses
are
beautiful
in
their
modern
way
,
and
I
ca
n't
think
why
he
does
n't
keep
on
with
it
.
But
it
's
really
for
Evie
that
he
went
there
,
and
now
that
Evie
's
going
to
be
married
—
"
"
Ah
!
"
"
You
've
never
seen
Miss
Wilcox
,
Frieda
.
How
absurdly
matrimonial
you
are
!
"
"
But
sister
to
that
Paul
?
"
"
Yes
.
"
"
And
to
that
Charles
,
"
said
Mrs.
Munt
with
feeling
.
"
Oh
,
Helen
,
Helen
,
what
a
time
that
was
!
"
Helen
laughed
.
"
Meg
and
I
have
n't
got
such
tender
hearts
.
If
there
's
a
chance
of
a
cheap
house
,
we
go
for
it
.
"
"
Now
look
,
Frau
Liesecke
,
at
my
niece
's
train
.
You
see
,
it
is
coming
towards
us
—
coming
,
coming
;
and
,
when
it
gets
to
Corfe
,
it
will
actually
go
through
the
downs
,
on
which
we
are
standing
,
so
that
,
if
we
walk
over
,
as
I
suggested
,
and
look
down
on
Swanage
,
we
shall
see
it
coming
on
the
other
side
.
Shall
we
?
"
Frieda
assented
,
and
in
a
few
minutes
they
had
crossed
the
ridge
and
exchanged
the
greater
view
for
the
lesser
.
Rather
a
dull
valley
lay
below
,
backed
by
the
slope
of
the
coastward
downs
.
They
were
looking
across
the
Isle
of
Purbeck
and
on
to
Swanage
,
soon
to
be
the
most
important
town
of
all
,
and
ugliest
of
the
three
.
Margaret
's
train
reappeared
as
promised
,
and
was
greeted
with
approval
by
her
aunt
.
It
came
to
a
standstill
in
the
middle
distance
,
and
there
it
had
been
planned
that
Tibby
should
meet
her
,
and
drive
her
,
and
a
tea-basket
,
up
to
join
them
.
"
You
see
,
"
continued
Helen
to
her
cousin
,
"
the
Wilcoxes
collect
houses
as
your
Victor
collects
tadpoles
.
They
have
,
one
,
Ducie
Street
;
two
,
Howards
End
,
where
my
great
rumpus
was
;
three
,
a
country
seat
in
Shropshire
;
four
,
Charles
has
a
house
in
Hilton
;
and
five
,
another
near
Epsom
;
and
six
,
Evie
will
have
a
house
when
she
marries
,
and
probably
a
pied-à-terre
in
the
country
—
which
makes
seven
.
Oh
yes
,
and
Paul
a
hut
in
Africa
makes
eight
.
I
wish
we
could
get
Howards
End
.
That
was
something
like
a
dear
little
house
!
Did
n't
you
think
so
,
Aunt
Juley
?
"
"
I
had
too
much
to
do
,
dear
,
to
look
at
it
,
"
said
Mrs.
Munt
,
with
a
gracious
dignity
.
"
I
had
everything
to
settle
and
explain
,
and
Charles
Wilcox
to
keep
in
his
place
besides
.
It
is
n't
likely
I
should
remember
much
.
I
just
remember
having
lunch
in
your
bedroom
.
"
"
Yes
so
do
I
.
But
,
oh
dear
,
dear
,
how
dead
it
all
seems
!
And
in
the
autumn
there
began
this
anti-Pauline
movement
—
you
,
and
Frieda
,
and
Meg
,
and
Mrs.
Wilcox
,
all
obsessed
with
the
idea
that
I
might
yet
marry
Paul
.
"
"
You
yet
may
,
"
said
Frieda
despondently
.
Helen
shook
her
head
.
"
The
Great
Wilcox
Peril
will
never
return
.
If
I
'm
certain
of
anything
it
's
of
that
.
"
"
One
is
certain
of
nothing
but
the
truth
of
one
's
own
emotions
.
"
The
remark
fell
damply
on
the
conversation
.
But
Helen
slipped
her
arm
round
her
cousin
,
somehow
liking
her
the
better
for
making
it
.
It
was
not
an
original
remark
,
nor
had
Frieda
appropriated
it
passionately
,
for
she
had
a
patriotic
rather
than
a
philosophic
mind
.
Yet
it
betrayed
that
interest
in
the
universal
which
the
average
Teuton
possesses
and
the
average
Englishman
does
not
.
It
was
,
however
illogically
,
the
good
,
the
beautiful
,
the
true
,
as
opposed
to
the
respectable
,
the
pretty
,
the
adequate
.
It
was
a
landscape
of
Böcklin
's
beside
a
landscape
of
Leader
's
,
strident
and
ill-considered
,
but
quivering
into
supernatural
life
.
It
sharpened
idealism
,
stirred
the
soul
.
It
may
have
been
a
bad
preparation
for
what
followed
.
"
Look
!
"
cried
Aunt
Juley
,
hurrying
away
from
generalities
over
the
narrow
summit
of
the
down
.
"
Stand
where
I
stand
,
and
you
will
see
the
pony-cart
coming
.
I
see
the
pony-cart
coming
.
"
They
stood
and
saw
the
pony-cart
coming
.
Margaret
and
Tibby
were
presently
seen
coming
in
it
.
Leaving
the
outskirts
of
Swanage
,
it
drove
for
a
little
through
the
budding
lanes
,
and
then
began
the
ascent
.
"
Have
you
got
the
house
?
"
they
shouted
,
long
before
she
could
possibly
hear
.
Helen
ran
down
to
meet
her
.
The
highroad
passed
over
a
saddle
,
and
a
track
went
thence
at
right
angles
along
the
ridge
of
the
down
.
"
Have
you
got
the
house
?
"
Margaret
shook
her
head
.
"
Oh
,
what
a
nuisance
!
So
we
're
as
we
were
?
"
"
Not
exactly
.
"
She
got
out
,
looking
tired
.
"
Some
mystery
,
"
said
Tibby
.
"
We
are
to
be
enlightened
presently
.
"
Margaret
came
close
up
to
her
and
whispered
that
she
had
had
a
proposal
of
marriage
from
Mr.
Wilcox
.
Helen
was
amused
.
She
opened
the
gate
on
to
the
downs
so
that
her
brother
might
lead
the
pony
through
.
"
It
's
just
like
a
widower
,
"
she
remarked
.
"
They
've
cheek
enough
for
anything
,
and
invariably
select
one
of
their
first
wife
's
friends
.
"
Margaret
's
face
flashed
despair
.
"
That
type
—
"
She
broke
off
with
a
cry
.
"
Meg
,
not
anything
wrong
with
you
?
"
"
Wait
one
minute
,
"
said
Margaret
,
whispering
always
.
"
But
you
've
never
conceivably
—
you
've
never
—
"
She
pulled
herself
together
.
"
Tibby
,
hurry
up
through
;
I
ca
n't
hold
this
gate
indefinitely
.
Aunt
Juley
!
I
say
,
Aunt
Juley
,
make
the
tea
,
will
you
,
and
Frieda
;
we
've
got
to
talk
houses
,
and
I
'll
come
on
afterwards
.
"
And
then
,
turning
her
face
to
her
sister
's
,
she
burst
into
tears
.
Margaret
was
stupefied
.
She
heard
herself
saying
,
"
Oh
,
really
—
"
She
felt
herself
touched
with
a
hand
that
trembled
.
"
Do
n't
,
"
sobbed
Helen
,
"
do
n't
,
do
n't
,
Meg
,
do
n't
!
"
She
seemed
incapable
of
saying
any
other
word
.
Margaret
,
trembling
herself
,
led
her
forward
up
the
road
,
till
they
strayed
through
another
gate
on
to
the
down
.
"
Do
n't
,
do
n't
do
such
a
thing
!
I
tell
you
not
to
—
do
n't
!
I
know
—
do
n't
!
"
"
What
do
you
know
?
"
"
Panic
and
emptiness
,
"
sobbed
Helen
.
"
Do
n't
!
"
Then
Margaret
thought
,
"
Helen
is
a
little
selfish
.
I
have
never
behaved
like
this
when
there
has
seemed
a
chance
of
her
marrying
.
She
said
:
"
But
we
would
still
see
each
other
very
often
,
and
—
"
"
It
's
not
a
thing
like
that
,
"
sobbed
Helen
.
And
she
broke
right
away
and
wandered
distractedly
upwards
,
stretching
her
hands
towards
the
view
and
crying
.
"
What
's
happened
to
you
?
"
called
Margaret
,
following
through
the
wind
that
gathers
at
sundown
on
the
northern
slopes
of
hills
.
"
But
it
's
stupid
!
"
And
suddenly
stupidity
seized
her
,
and
the
immense
landscape
was
blurred
.
But
Helen
turned
back
.
"
Meg
—
"
"
I
do
n't
know
what
's
happened
to
either
of
us
,
"
said
Margaret
,
wiping
her
eyes
.
"
We
must
both
have
gone
mad
.
"
Then
Helen
wiped
hers
,
and
they
even
laughed
a
little
.
"
Look
here
,
sit
down
.
"
"
All
right
;
I
'll
sit
down
if
you
'll
sit
down
.
"
"
There
.
(
One
kiss
.
)
Now
,
whatever
,
whatever
is
the
matter
?
"
"
I
do
mean
what
I
said
.
Do
n't
;
it
would
n't
do
.
"
"
Oh
,
Helen
,
stop
saying
'
do
n't
'
!
It
's
ignorant
.
It
's
as
if
your
head
was
n't
out
of
the
slime
.
'
Do
n't
'
is
probably
what
Mrs.
Bast
says
all
the
day
to
Mr.
Bast
.
"
Helen
was
silent
.
"
Well
?
"
"
Tell
me
about
it
first
,
and
meanwhile
perhaps
I
'll
have
got
my
head
out
of
the
slime
.
"
"
That
's
better
.
Well
,
where
shall
I
begin
?
When
I
arrived
at
Waterloo
—
no
,
I
'll
go
back
before
that
,
because
I
'm
anxious
you
should
know
everything
from
the
first
.
The
'
first
'
was
about
ten
days
ago
.
It
was
the
day
Mr.
Bast
came
to
tea
and
lost
his
temper
.
I
was
defending
him
,
and
Mr.
Wilcox
became
jealous
about
me
,
however
slightly
.
I
thought
it
was
the
involuntary
thing
,
which
men
ca
n't
help
any
more
than
we
can
.
You
know
—
at
least
,
I
know
in
my
own
case
—
when
a
man
has
said
to
me
,
'
So-and-so
's
a
pretty
girl
,
'
I
am
seized
with
a
momentary
sourness
against
So-and-so
,
and
long
to
tweak
her
ear
.
It
's
a
tiresome
feeling
,
but
not
an
important
one
,
and
one
easily
manages
it
.
But
it
was
n't
only
this
in
Mr.
Wilcox
's
case
,
I
gather
now
.
"
"
Then
you
love
him
?
"
Margaret
considered
.
"
It
is
wonderful
knowing
that
a
real
man
cares
for
you
,
"
she
said
.
"
The
mere
fact
of
that
grows
more
tremendous
.
Remember
,
I
've
known
and
liked
him
steadily
for
nearly
three
years
.
"
But
loved
him
?
"
Margaret
peered
into
her
past
.
It
is
pleasant
to
analyze
feelings
while
they
are
still
only
feelings
,
and
unembodied
in
the
social
fabric
.
With
her
arm
round
Helen
,
and
her
eyes
shifting
over
the
view
,
as
if
this
county
or
that
could
reveal
the
secret
of
her
own
heart
,
she
meditated
honestly
,
and
said
,
"
No.
"
"
But
you
will
?
"
"
Yes
,
"
said
Margaret
,
"
of
that
I
'm
pretty
sure
.
Indeed
,
I
began
the
moment
he
spoke
to
me
.
"
"
And
have
settled
to
marry
him
?
"
"
I
had
,
but
am
wanting
a
long
talk
about
it
now
.
What
is
it
against
him
,
Helen
?
You
must
try
and
say
.
"
Helen
,
in
her
turn
,
looked
outwards
.
"
It
is
ever
since
Paul
,
"
she
said
finally
.
"
But
what
has
Mr.
Wilcox
to
do
with
Paul
?
"
"
But
he
was
there
,
they
were
all
there
that
morning
when
I
came
down
to
breakfast
,
and
saw
that
Paul
was
frightened
—
the
man
who
loved
me
frightened
and
all
his
paraphernalia
fallen
,
so
that
I
knew
it
was
impossible
,
because
personal
relations
are
the
important
thing
for
ever
and
ever
,
and
not
this
outer
life
of
telegrams
and
anger
.
"
She
poured
the
sentence
forth
in
one
breath
,
but
her
sister
understood
it
,
because
it
touched
on
thoughts
that
were
familiar
between
them
.
"
That
's
foolish
.
In
the
first
place
,
I
disagree
about
the
outer
life
.
Well
,
we
've
often
argued
that
.
The
real
point
is
that
there
is
the
widest
gulf
between
my
love-making
and
yours
.
Yours
—
was
romance
;
mine
will
be
prose
.
I
'm
not
running
it
down
—
a
very
good
kind
of
prose
,
but
well
considered
,
well
thought
out
.
For
instance
,
I
know
all
Mr.
Wilcox
's
faults
.
He
's
afraid
of
emotion
.
He
cares
too
much
about
success
,
too
little
about
the
past
.
His
sympathy
lacks
poetry
,
and
so
is
n't
sympathy
really
.
I
'd
even
say
"
—
she
looked
at
the
shining
lagoons
—
"
that
,
spiritually
,
he
's
not
as
honest
as
I
am
.
Does
n't
that
satisfy
you
?
"
"
No
,
it
does
n't
,
"
said
Helen
.
"
It
makes
me
feel
worse
and
worse
.
You
must
be
mad
.
"
Margaret
made
a
movement
of
irritation
.
"
I
do
n't
intend
him
,
or
any
man
or
any
woman
,
to
be
all
my
life
—
good
heavens
,
no
