nothide
anything
from
us
,
for
up
to
that
very
afternoon
she
was
as
ignorant
as
we
are
.
She
,
like
ourselves
,
was
a
dupe
—
"
He
stopped
for
a
moment
.
"
You
see
,
Charles
,
in
her
terrible
pain
your
poor
mother
put
us
all
in
false
positions
.
Paul
would
not
have
left
England
,
you
would
not
have
gone
to
Italy
,
nor
Evie
and
I
into
Yorkshire
,
if
only
we
had
known
.
Well
,
Miss
Schlegel
's
position
has
been
equally
false
.
Take
all
in
all
,
she
has
not
come
out
of
it
badly
.
"
Evie
said
:
"
But
those
chrysanthemums
—
"
"
Or
coming
down
to
the
funeral
at
all
—
"
echoed
Dolly
.
"
Why
should
n't
she
come
down
?
She
had
the
right
to
,
and
she
stood
far
back
among
the
Hilton
women
.
The
flowers
—
certainly
we
should
not
have
sent
such
flowers
,
but
they
may
have
seemed
the
right
thing
to
her
,
Evie
,
and
for
all
you
know
they
may
be
the
custom
in
Germany
.
"
"
Oh
,
I
forget
she
is
n't
really
English
,
"
cried
Evie
.
"
That
would
explain
a
lot
.
"
"
She
's
a
cosmopolitan
,
"
said
Charles
,
looking
at
his
watch
.
"
I
admit
I
'm
rather
down
on
cosmopolitans
.
My
fault
,
doubtless
.
I
cannot
stand
them
,
and
a
German
cosmopolitan
is
the
limit
.
I
think
that
's
about
all
,
is
n't
it
?
I
want
to
run
down
and
see
Chalkeley
.
A
bicycle
will
do
.
And
,
by
the
way
,
I
wish
you
'd
speak
to
Crane
some
time
.
I
'm
certain
he
's
had
my
new
car
out
.
"
"
Has
he
done
it
any
harm
?
"
"
No.
"
"
In
that
case
I
shall
let
it
pass
.
It
's
not
worth
while
having
a
row
.
"
Charles
and
his
father
sometimes
disagreed
.
But
they
always
parted
with
an
increased
regard
for
one
another
,
and
each
desired
no
doughtier
comrade
when
it
was
necessary
to
voyage
for
a
little
past
the
emotions
.
So
the
sailors
of
Ulysses
voyaged
past
the
Sirens
,
having
first
stopped
one
another
's
ears
with
wool
.
Chapter
12
Charles
need
not
have
been
anxious
.
Miss
Schlegel
had
never
heard
of
his
mother
's
strange
request
.
She
was
to
hear
of
it
in
after
years
,
when
she
had
built
up
her
life
differently
,
and
it
was
to
fit
into
position
as
the
headstone
of
the
corner
.
Her
mind
was
bent
on
other
questions
now
,
and
by
her
also
it
would
have
been
rejected
as
the
fantasy
of
an
invalid
.
She
was
parting
from
these
Wilcoxes
for
the
second
time
.
Paul
and
his
mother
,
ripple
and
great
wave
,
had
flowed
into
her
life
and
ebbed
out
of
it
for
ever
.
The
ripple
had
left
no
traces
behind
:
the
wave
had
strewn
at
her
feet
fragments
torn
from
the
unknown
.
A
curious
seeker
,
she
stood
for
a
while
at
the
verge
of
the
sea
that
tells
so
little
,
but
tells
a
little
,
and
watched
the
outgoing
of
this
last
tremendous
tide
.
Her
friend
had
vanished
in
agony
,
but
not
,
she
believed
,
in
degradation
.
Her
withdrawal
had
hinted
at
other
things
besides
disease
and
pain
.
Some
leave
our
life
with
tears
,
others
with
an
insane
frigidity
;
Mrs.
Wilcox
had
taken
the
middle
course
,
which
only
rarer
natures
can
pursue
.
She
had
kept
proportion
.
She
had
told
a
little
of
her
grim
secret
to
her
friends
,
but
not
too
much
;
she
had
shut
up
her
heart
—
almost
,
but
not
entirely
.
It
is
thus
,
if
there
is
any
rule
,
that
we
ought
to
die
—
neither
as
victim
nor
as
fanatic
,
but
as
the
seafarer
who
can
greet
with
an
equal
eye
the
deep
that
he
is
entering
,
and
the
shore
that
he
must
leave
.
The
last
word
—
whatever
it
would
be
—
had
certainly
not
been
said
in
Hilton
churchyard
.
She
had
not
died
there
.
A
funeral
is
not
death
,
any
more
than
baptism
is
birth
or
marriage
union
.
All
three
are
the
clumsy
devices
,
coming
now
too
late
,
now
too
early
,
by
which
Society
would
register
the
quick
motions
of
man
.
In
Margaret
's
eyes
Mrs.
Wilcox
had
escaped
registration
.
She
had
gone
out
of
life
vividly
,
her
own
way
,
and
no
dust
was
so
truly
dust
as
the
contents
of
that
heavy
coffin
,
lowered
with
ceremonial
until
it
rested
on
the
dust
of
the
earth
,
no
flowers
so
utterly
wasted
as
the
chrysanthemums
that
the
frost
must
have
withered
before
morning
.
Margaret
had
once
said
she
"
loved
superstition
.
"
It
was
not
true
.
Few
women
had
tried
more
earnestly
to
pierce
the
accretions
in
which
body
and
soul
are
enwrapped
.
The
death
of
Mrs.
Wilcox
had
helped
her
in
her
work
.
She
saw
a
little
more
clearly
than
hitherto
what
a
human
being
is
,
and
to
what
he
may
aspire
.
Truer
relationships
gleamed
.
Perhaps
the
last
word
would
be
hope
—
hope
even
on
this
side
of
the
grave
.
Meanwhile
,
she
could
take
an
interest
in
the
survivors
.
In
spite
of
her
Christmas
duties
,
in
spite
of
her
brother
,
the
Wilcoxes
continued
to
play
a
considerable
part
in
her
thoughts
.
She
had
seen
so
much
of
them
in
the
final
week
.
They
were
not
"
her
sort
,
"
they
were
often
suspicious
and
stupid
,
and
deficient
where
she
excelled
;
but
collision
with
them
stimulated
her
,
and
she
felt
an
interest
that
verged
into
liking
,
even
for
Charles
.
She
desired
to
protect
them
,
and
often
felt
that
they
could
protect
her
,
excelling
where
she
was
deficient
.
Once
past
the
rocks
of
emotion
,
they
knew
so
well
what
to
do
,
whom
to
send
for
;
their
hands
were
on
all
the
ropes
,
they
had
grit
as
well
as
grittiness
,
and
she
valued
grit
enormously
.
They
led
a
life
that
she
could
not
attain
to
—
the
outer
life
of
"
telegrams
and
anger
,
"
which
had
detonated
when
Helen
and
Paul
had
touched
in
June
,
and
had
detonated
again
the
other
week
.
To
Margaret
this
life
was
to
remain
a
real
force
.
She
could
not
despise
it
,
as
Helen
and
Tibby
affected
to
do
.
It
fostered
such
virtues
as
neatness
,
decision
,
and
obedience
,
virtues
of
the
second
rank
,
no
doubt
,
but
they
have
formed
our
civilization
.
They
form
character
,
too
;
Margaret
could
not
doubt
it
:
they
keep
the
soul
from
becoming
sloppy
.
How
dare
Schlegels
despise
Wilcoxes
,
when
it
takes
all
sorts
to
make
a
world
?
"
Do
n't
brood
too
much
,
"
she
wrote
to
Helen
,
"
on
the
superiority
of
the
unseen
to
the
seen
.
It
's
true
,
but
to
brood
on
it
is
mediaeval
.
Our
business
is
not
to
contrast
the
two
,
but
to
reconcile
them
.
"
Helen
replied
that
she
had
no
intention
of
brooding
on
such
a
dull
subject
.
What
did
her
sister
take
her
for
?
The
weather
was
magnificent
.
She
and
the
Mosebachs
had
gone
tobogganing
on
the
only
hill
that
Pomerania
boasted
.
It
was
fun
,
but
overcrowded
,
for
the
rest
of
Pomerania
had
gone
there
too
.
Helen
loved
the
country
,
and
her
letter
glowed
with
physical
exercise
and
poetry
.
She
spoke
of
the
scenery
,
quiet
,
yet
august
;
of
the
snow-clad
fields
,
with
their
scampering
herds
of
deer
;
of
the
river
and
its
quaint
entrance
into
the
Baltic
Sea
;
of
the
Oderberge
,
only
three
hundred
feet
high
,
from
which
one
slid
all
too
quickly
back
into
the
Pomeranian
plains
,
and
yet
these
Oderberge
were
real
mountains
,
with
pine-forests
,
streams
,
and
views
complete
.
"
It
is
n't
size
that
counts
so
much
as
the
way
things
are
arranged
.
"
In
another
paragraph
she
referred
to
Mrs.
Wilcox
sympathetically
,
but
the
news
had
not
bitten
into
her
.
She
had
not
realized
the
accessories
of
death
,
which
are
in
a
sense
more
memorable
than
death
itself
.
The
atmosphere
of
precautions
and
recriminations
,
and
in
the
midst
a
human
body
growing
more
vivid
because
it
was
in
pain
;
the
end
of
that
body
in
Hilton
churchyard
;
the
survival
of
something
that
suggested
hope
,
vivid
in
its
turn
against
life
's
workaday
cheerfulness
;
—
all
these
were
lost
to
Helen
,
who
only
felt
that
a
pleasant
lady
could
now
be
pleasant
no
longer
.
She
returned
to
Wickham
Place
full
of
her
own
affairs
—
she
had
had
another
proposal
—
and
Margaret
,
after
a
moment
's
hesitation
,
was
content
that
this
should
be
so
.
The
proposal
had
not
been
a
serious
matter
.
It
was
the
work
of
Fräulein
Mosebach
,
who
had
conceived
the
large
and
patriotic
notion
of
winning
back
her
cousins
to
the
Fatherland
by
matrimony
.
England
had
played
Paul
Wilcox
,
and
lost
;
Germany
played
Herr
Förstmeister
someone
—
Helen
could
not
remember
his
name
.
Herr
Förstmeister
lived
in
a
wood
,
and
standing
on
the
summit
of
the
Oderberge
,
he
had
pointed
out
his
house
to
Helen
,
or
rather
,
had
pointed
out
the
wedge
of
pines
in
which
it
lay
.
She
had
exclaimed
,
"
Oh
,
how
lovely
!
That
's
the
place
for
me
!
"
and
in
the
evening
Frieda
appeared
in
her
bedroom
.
"
I
have
a
message
,
dear
Helen
,
"
etc.
,
and
so
she
had
,
but
had
been
very
nice
when
Helen
laughed
;
quite
understood
—
a
forest
too
solitary
and
damp
—
quite
agreed
,
but
Herr
Förstmeister
believed
he
had
assurance
to
the
contrary
.
Germany
had
lost
,
but
with
good-humour
;
holding
the
manhood
of
the
world
,
she
felt
bound
to
win
.
"
And
there
will
even
be
someone
for
Tibby
,
"
concluded
Helen
.
"
There
now
,
Tibby
,
think
of
that
;
Frieda
is
saving
up
a
little
girl
for
you
,
in
pig-tails
and
white
worsted
stockings
,
but
the
feet
of
the
stockings
are
pink
,
as
if
the
little
girl
had
trodden
in
strawberries
.
I
've
talked
too
much
.
My
head
aches
.
Now
you
talk
.
"
Tibby
consented
to
talk
.
He
too
was
full
of
his
own
affairs
,
for
he
had
just
been
up
to
try
for
a
scholarship
at
Oxford
.
The
men
were
down
,
and
the
candidates
had
been
housed
in
various
colleges
,
and
had
dined
in
hall
.
Tibby
was
sensitive
to
beauty
,
the
experience
was
new
,
and
he
gave
a
description
of
his
visit
that
was
almost
glowing
.
The
august
and
mellow
University
,
soaked
with
the
richness
of
the
western
counties
that
it
has
served
for
a
thousand
years
,
appealed
at
once
to
the
boy
's
taste
:
it
was
the
kind
of
thing
he
could
understand
,
and
he
understood
it
all
the
better
because
it
was
empty
.
Oxford
is
—
Oxford
:
not
a
mere
receptacle
for
youth
,
like
Cambridge
.
Perhaps
it
wants
its
inmates
to
love
it
rather
than
to
love
one
another
:
such
at
all
events
was
to
be
its
effect
on
Tibby
.
His
sisters
sent
him
there
that
he
might
make
friends
,
for
they
knew
that
his
education
had
been
cranky
,
and
had
severed
him
from
other
boys
and
men
.
He
made
no
friends
.
His
Oxford
remained
Oxford
empty
,
and
he
took
into
life
with
him
,
not
the
memory
of
a
radiance
,
but
the
memory
of
a
colour
scheme
.
It
pleased
Margaret
to
hear
her
brother
and
sister
talking
.
They
did
not
get
on
overwell
as
a
rule
.
For
a
few
moments
she
listened
to
them
,
feeling
elderly
and
benign
.
Then
something
occurred
to
her
,
and
she
interrupted
:
"
Helen
,
I
told
you
about
poor
Mrs.
Wilcox
;
that
sad
business
?
"
"
Yes
.
"
"
I
have
had
a
correspondence
with
her
son
.
He
was
winding
up
the
estate
,
and
wrote
to
ask
me
whether
his
mother
had
wanted
me
to
have
anything
.
I
thought
it
good
of
him
,
considering
I
knew
her
so
little
.
I
said
that
she
had
once
spoken
of
giving
me
a
Christmas
present
,
but
we
both
forgot
about
it
afterwards
.
"
"
I
hope
Charles
took
the
hint
.
"
"
Yes
—
that
is
to
say
,
her
husband
wrote
later
on
,
and
thanked
me
for
being
a
little
kind
to
her
,
and
actually
gave
me
her
silver
vinaigrette
.
Do
n't
you
think
that
is
extraordinarily
generous
?
It
has
made
me
like
him
very
much
.
He
hopes
that
this
will
not
be
the
end
of
our
acquaintance
,
but
that
you
and
I
will
go
and
stop
with
Evie
some
time
in
the
future
.
I
like
Mr.
Wilcox
.
He
is
taking
up
his
work
—
rubber
—
it
is
a
big
business
.
I
gather
he
is
launching
out
rather
.
Charles
is
in
it
,
too
.
Charles
is
married
—
a
pretty
little
creature
,
but
she
does
n't
seem
wise
.
They
took
on
the
flat
,
but
now
they
have
gone
off
to
a
house
of
their
own
.
"
Helen
,
after
a
decent
pause
,
continued
her
account
of
Stettin
.
How
quickly
a
situation
changes
!
In
June
she
had
been
in
a
crisis
;
even
in
November
she
could
blush
and
be
unnatural
;
now
it
was
January
,
and
the
whole
affair
lay
forgotten
.
Looking
back
on
the
past
six
months
,
Margaret
realized
the
chaotic
nature
of
our
daily
life
,
and
its
difference
from
the
orderly
sequence
that
has
been
fabricated
by
historians
.
Actual
life
is
full
of
false
clues
and
sign-posts
that
lead
nowhere
.
With
infinite
effort
we
nerve
ourselves
for
a
crisis
that
never
comes
.
The
most
successful
career
must
show
a
waste
of
strength
that
might
have
removed
mountains
,
and
the
most
unsuccessful
is
not
that
of
the
man
who
is
taken
unprepared
,
but
of
him
who
has
prepared
and
is
never
taken
.
On
a
tragedy
of
that
kind
our
national
morality
is
duly
silent
.
It
assumes
that
preparation
against
danger
is
in
itself
a
good
,
and
that
men
,
like
nations
,
are
the
better
for
staggering
through
life
fully
armed
.
The
tragedy
of
preparedness
has
scarcely
been
handled
,
save
by
the
Greeks
.
Life
is
indeed
dangerous
,
but
not
in
the
way
morality
would
have
us
believe
.
It
is
indeed
unmanageable
,
but
the
essence
of
it
is
not
a
battle
.
It
is
unmanageable
because
it
is
a
romance
,
and
its
essence
is
romantic
beauty
.
Margaret
hoped
that
for
the
future
she
would
be
less
cautious
,
not
more
cautious
,
than
she
had
been
in
the
past
.
Chapter
13
Over
two
years
passed
,
and
the
Schlegel
household
continued
to
lead
its
life
of
cultured
but
not
ignoble
ease
,
still
swimming
gracefully
on
the
grey
tides
of
London
.
Concerts
and
plays
swept
past
them
,
money
had
been
spent
and
renewed
,
reputations
won
and
lost
,
and
the
city
herself
,
emblematic
of
their
lives
,
rose
and
fell
in
a
continual
flux
,
while
her
shallows
washed
more
widely
against
the
hills
of
Surrey
and
over
the
fields
of
Hertfordshire
.
This
famous
building
had
arisen
,
that
was
doomed
.
Today
Whitehall
had
been
transformed
:
it
would
be
the
turn
of
Regent
Street
tomorrow
.
And
month
by
month
the
roads
smelt
more
strongly
of
petrol
,
and
were
more
difficult
to
cross
,
and
human
beings
heard
each
other
speak
with
greater
difficulty
,
breathed
less
of
the
air
,
and
saw
less
of
the
sky
.
Nature
withdrew
:
the
leaves
were
falling
by
midsummer
;
the
sun
shone
through
dirt
with
an
admired
obscurity
.
To
speak
against
London
is
no
longer
fashionable
.
The
Earth
as
an
artistic
cult
has
had
its
day
,
and
the
literature
of
the
near
future
will
probably
ignore
the
country
and
seek
inspiration
from
the
town
.
One
can
understand
the
reaction
.
Of
Pan
and
the
elemental
forces
,
the
public
has
heard
a
little
too
much
—
they
seem
Victorian
,
while
London
is
Georgian
—
and
those
who
care
for
the
earth
with
sincerity
may
wait
long
ere
the
pendulum
swings
back
to
her
again
.
Certainly
London
fascinates
.
One
visualizes
it
as
a
tract
of
quivering
grey
,
intelligent
without
purpose
,
and
excitable
without
love
;
as
a
spirit
that
has
altered
before
it
can
be
chronicled
;
as
a
heart
that
certainly
beats
,
but
with
no
pulsation
of
humanity
.
It
lies
beyond
everything
:
Nature
,
with
all
her
cruelty
,
comes
nearer
to
us
than
do
these
crowds
of
men
.
A
friend
explains
himself
:
the
earth
is
explicable
—
from
her
we
came
,
and
we
must
return
to
her
.
But
who
can
explain
Westminster
Bridge
Road
or
Liverpool
Street
in
the
morning
—
the
city
inhaling
—
or
the
same
thoroughfares
in
the
evening
—
the
city
exhaling
her
exhausted
air
?
We
reach
in
desperation
beyond
the
fog
,
beyond
the
very
stars
,
the
voids
of
the
universe
are
ransacked
to
justify
the
monster
,
and
stamped
with
a
human
face
.
London
is
religion
's
opportunity
—
not
the
decorous
religion
of
theologians
,
but
anthropomorphic
,
crude
.
Yes
,
the
continuous
flow
would
be
tolerable
if
a
man
of
our
own
sort
—
not
anyone
pompous
or
tearful
—
were
caring
for
us
up
in
the
sky
.
The
Londoner
seldom
understands
his
city
until
it
sweeps
him
,
too
,
away
from
his
moorings
,
and
Margaret
's
eyes
were
not
opened
until
the
lease
of
Wickham
Place
expired
.
She
had
always
known
that
it
must
expire
,
but
the
knowledge
only
became
vivid
about
nine
months
before
the
event
.
Then
the
house
was
suddenly
ringed
with
pathos
.
It
had
seen
so
much
happiness
.
Why
had
it
to
be
swept
away
?
In
the
streets
of
the
city
she
noted
for
the
first
time
the
architecture
of
hurry
,
and
heard
the
language
of
hurry
on
the
mouths
of
its
inhabitants
—
clipped
words
,
formless
sentences
,
potted
expressions
of
approval
or
disgust
.
Month
by
month
things
were
stepping
livelier
,
but
to
what
goal
?
The
population
still
rose
,
but
what
was
the
quality
of
the
men
born
?
The
particular
millionaire
who
owned
the
freehold
of
Wickham
Place
,
and
desired
to
erect
Babylonian
flats
upon
it
—
what
right
had
he
to
stir
so
large
a
portion
of
the
quivering
jelly
?
He
was
not
a
fool
—
she
had
heard
him
expose
Socialism
—
but
true
insight
began
just
where
his
intelligence
ended
,
and
one
gathered
that
this
was
the
case
with
most
millionaires
.
What
right
had
such
men
—
But
Margaret
checked
herself
.
That
way
lies
madness
.
Thank
goodness
she
,
too
,
had
some
money
,
and
could
purchase
a
new
home
.
Tibby
,
now
in
his
second
year
at
Oxford
,
was
down
for
the
Easter
vacation
,
and
Margaret
took
the
opportunity
of
having
a
serious
talk
with
him
.
Did
he
at
all
know
where
he
wanted
to
live
?
Tibby
did
n't
know
that
he
did
know
.
Did
he
at
all
know
what
he
wanted
to
do
?
He
was
equally
uncertain
,
but
when
pressed
remarked
that
he
should
prefer
to
be
quite
free
of
any
profession
.
Margaret
was
not
shocked
,
but
went
on
sewing
for
a
few
minutes
before
she
replied
:
"
I
was
thinking
of
Mr.
Vyse
.
He
never
strikes
me
as
particularly
happy
.
"
"
Ye-es
,
"
said
Tibby
,
and
then
held
his
mouth
open
in
a
curious
quiver
,
as
if
he
,
too
,
had
thoughts
of
Mr.
Vyse
,
had
seen
round
,
through
,
over
,
and
beyond
Mr.
Vyse
,
had
weighed
Mr.
Vyse
,
grouped
him
,
and
finally
dismissed
him
as
having
no
possible
bearing
on
the
subject
under
discussion
.
That
bleat
of
Tibby
's
infuriated
Helen
.
But
Helen
was
now
down
in
the
dining-room
preparing
a
speech
about
political
economy
.
At
times
her
voice
could
be
heard
declaiming
through
the
floor
.
"
But
Mr.
Vyse
is
rather
a
wretched
,
weedy
man
,
do
n't
you
think
?
Then
there
's
Guy
.
That
was
a
pitiful
business
.
Besides
"
—
shifting
to
the
general
—
"
every
one
is
the
better
for
some
regular
work
.
"
Groans
.
"
I
shall
stick
to
it
,
"
she
continued
,
smiling
.
"
I
am
not
saying
it
to
educate
you
;
it
is
what
I
really
think
.
I
believe
that
in
the
last
century
men
have
developed
the
desire
for
work
,
and
they
must
not
starve
it
.
It
's
a
new
desire
.
It
goes
with
a
great
deal
that
's
bad
,
but
in
itself
it
's
good
,
and
I
hope
that
for
women
,
too
,
'
not
to
work
'
will
soon
become
as
shocking
as
'
not
to
be
married
'
was
a
hundred
years
ago
.
"
"
I
have
no
experience
of
this
profound
desire
to
which
you
allude
,
"
enunciated
Tibby
.
"
Then
we
'll
leave
the
subject
till
you
do
.
I
'm
not
going
to
rattle
you
round
.
Take
your
time
.
Only
do
think
over
the
lives
of
the
men
you
like
most
,
and
see
how
they
've
arranged
them
.
"
"
I
like
Guy
and
Mr.
Vyse
most
,
"
said
Tibby
faintly
,
and
leant
so
far
back
in
his
chair
that
he
extended
in
a
horizontal
line
from
knees
to
throat
.
"
And
do
n't
think
I
'm
not
serious
because
I
do
n't
use
the
traditional
arguments
—
making
money
,
a
sphere
awaiting
you
,
and
so
on
—
all
of
which
are
,
for
various
reasons
,
cant
.
"
She
sewed
on
.
"
I
'm
only
your
sister
.
I
have
n't
any
authority
over
you
,
and
I
do
n't
want
to
have
any
.
Just
to
put
before
you
what
I
think
the
truth
.
You
see
"
—
she
shook
off
the
pince-nez
to
which
she
had
recently
taken
—
"
in
a
few
years
we
shall
be
the
same
age
practically
,
and
I
shall
want
you
to
help
me
.
Men
are
so
much
nicer
than
women
.
"
"
Labouring
under
such
a
delusion
,
why
do
you
not
marry
?
"
"
I
sometimes
jolly
well
think
I
would
if
I
got
the
chance
.
"
"
Has
nobody
arst
you
?
"
"
Only
ninnies
.
"
"
Do
people
ask
Helen
?
"
"
Plentifully
.
"
"
Tell
me
about
them
.
"
"
No.
"
"
Tell
me
about
your
ninnies
,
then
.
"
"
They
were
men
who
had
nothing
better
to
do
,
"
said
his
sister
,
feeling
that
she
was
entitled
to
score
this
point
.
"
So
take
warning
:
you
must
work
,
or
else
you
must
pretend
to
work
,
which
is
what
I
do
.
Work
,
work
,
work
if
you
'd
save
your
soul
and
your
body
.
It
is
honestly
a
necessity
,
dear
boy
.
Look
at
the
Wilcoxes
,
look
at
Mr.
Pembroke
.
With
all
their
defects
of
temper
and
understanding
,
such
men
give
me
more
pleasure
than
many
who
are
better
equipped
and
I
think
it
is
because
they
have
worked
regularly
and
honestly
.
"
Spare
me
the
Wilcoxes
,
"
he
moaned
.
"
I
shall
not
.
They
are
the
right
sort
.
"
"
Oh
,
goodness
me
,
Meg
!
"
he
protested
,
suddenly
sitting
up
,
alert
and
angry
.
Tibby
,
for
all
his
defects
,
had
a
genuine
personality
.
"
Well
,
they
're
as
near
the
right
sort
as
you
can
imagine
.
"
"
No
,
no
—
oh
,
no
!
"
"
I
was
thinking
of
the
younger
son
,
whom
I
once
classed
as
a
ninny
,
but
who
came
back
so
ill
from
Nigeria
.
He
's
gone
out
there
again
,
Evie
Wilcox
tells
me
—
out
to
his
duty
.
"
"
Duty
"
always
elicited
a
groan
.
"
He
does
n't
want
the
money
,
it
is
work
he
wants
,
though
it
is
beastly
work
—
dull
country
,
dishonest
natives
,
an
eternal
fidget
over
fresh
water
and
food
.
A
nation
who
can
produce
men
of
that
sort
may
well
be
proud
.
No
wonder
England
has
become
an
Empire
.
"
"
Empire
!
"
"
I
ca
n't
bother
over
results
,
"
said
Margaret
,
a
little
sadly
.
"
They
are
too
difficult
for
me
.
I
can
only
look
at
the
men
.
An
Empire
bores
me
,
so
far
,
but
I
can
appreciate
the
heroism
that
builds
it
up
.
London
bores
me
,
but
what
thousands
of
splendid
people
are
labouring
to
make
London
—
"
"
What
it
is
,
"
he
sneered
.
"
What
it
is
,
worse
luck
.
I
want
activity
without
civilization
.
How
paradoxical
!
Yet
I
expect
that
is
what
we
shall
find
in
heaven
.
"
"
And
I
,
"
said
Tibby
,
"
want
civilization
without
activity
,
which
,
I
expect
,
is
what
we
shall
find
in
the
other
place
.
"
"
You
need
n't
go
as
far
as
the
other
place
,
Tibbi-kins
,
if
you
want
that
.
You
can
find
it
at
Oxford
.
"
"
Stupid
—
"
"
If
I
'm
stupid
,
get
me
back
to
the
house-hunting
.
I
'll
even
live
in
Oxford
if
you
like
—
North
Oxford
.
I
'll
live
anywhere
except
Bournemouth
,
Torquay
,
and
Cheltenham
.
Oh
yes
,
or
Ilfracombe
and
Swanage
and
Tunbridge
Wells
and
Surbiton
and
Bedford
.
There
on
no
account
.
"
"
London
,
then
.
"
"
I
agree
,
but
Helen
rather
wants
to
get
away
from
London
.
However
,
there
's
no
reason
we
should
n't
have
a
house
in
the
country
and
also
a
flat
in
town
,
provided
we
all
stick
together
and
contribute
.
Though
of
course
—
Oh
,
how
one
does
maunder
on
,
and
to
think
,
to
think
of
the
people
who
are
really
poor
.
How
do
they
live
?
Not
to
move
about
the
world
would
kill
me
.
"
As
she
spoke
,
the
door
was
flung
open
,
and
Helen
burst
in
in
a
state
of
extreme
excitement
.
"
Oh
,
my
dears
,
what
do
you
think
?
You
'll
never
guess
.
A
woman
's
been
here
asking
me
for
her
husband
.
Her
what
?
"
(
Helen
was
fond
of
supplying
her
own
surprise
.
)
"
Yes
,
for
her
husband
,
and
it
really
is
so
.
"
"
Not
anything
to
do
with
Bracknell
?
"
cried
Margaret
,
who
had
lately
taken
on
an
unemployed
of
that
name
to
clean
the
knives
and
boots
.
"
I
offered
Bracknell
,
and
he
was
rejected
.
So
was
Tibby
.
(
Cheer
up
,
Tibby
!
)
It
's
no
one
we
know
.
I
said
,
'
Hunt
,
my
good
woman
;
have
a
good
look
round
,
hunt
under
the
tables
,
poke
up
the
chimney
,
shake
out
the
antimacassars
.
Husband
?
husband
?
'
Oh
,
and
she
so
magnificently
dressed
and
tinkling
like
a
chandelier
.
"
"
Now
,
Helen
,
what
did
happen
really
?
"
"
What
I
say
.
I
was
,
as
it
were
,
orating
my
speech
.
Annie
opens
the
door
like
a
fool
,
and
shows
a
female
straight
in
on
me
,
with
my
mouth
open
.
Then
we
began
—
very
civilly
.
'
I
want
my
husband
,
what
I
have
reason
to
believe
is
here
.
'
No
—
how
unjust
one
is
.
She
said
'
whom
,
'
not
'
what
.
'
She
got
it
perfectly
.
So
I
said
,
'
Name
,
please
?
'
and
she
said
,
'
Lan
,
Miss
,
'
and
there
we
were
.
"
Lan
?
"
"
Lan
or
Len
.
We
were
not
nice
about
our
vowels
.
Lanoline
.
"
"
But
what
an
extraordinary
—
"
"
I
said
,
'
My
good
Mrs.
Lanoline
,
we
have
some
grave
misunderstanding
here
.
Beautiful
as
I
am
,
my
modesty
is
even
more
remarkable
than
my
beauty
,
and
never
,
never
has
Mr.
Lanoline
rested
his
eyes
on
mine
.
'
"
"
I
hope
you
were
pleased
,
"
said
Tibby
.
"
Of
course
,
"
Helen
squeaked
.
"
A
perfectly
delightful
experience
.
Oh
,
Mrs.
Lanoline
's
a
dear
—
she
asked
for
a
husband
as
if
he
was
an
umbrella
.
She
mislaid
him
Saturday
afternoon
—
and
for
a
long
time
suffered
no
inconvenience
.
But
all
night
,
and
all
this
morning
her
apprehensions
grew
.
Breakfast
did
n't
seem
the
same
—
no
,
no
more
did
lunch
,
and
so
she
strolled
up
to
2
,
Wickham
Place
as
being
the
most
likely
place
for
the
missing
article
.
"
"
But
how
on
earth
—
"
"
Do
n't
begin
how
on
earthing
.
'
I
know
what
I
know
,
'
she
kept
repeating
,
not
uncivilly
,
but
with
extreme
gloom
.
In
vain
I
asked
her
what
she
did
know
.
Some
knew
what
others
knew
,
and
others
did
n't
,
and
if
they
did
n't
,
then
others
again
had
better
be
careful
.
Oh
dear
,
she
was
incompetent
!
She
had
a
face
like
a
silkworm
,
and
the
dining-room
reeks
of
orris-root
.
We
chatted
pleasantly
a
little
about
husbands
,
and
I
wondered
where
hers
was
too
,
and
advised
her
to
go
to
the
police
.
She
thanked
me
.
We
agreed
that
Mr.
Lanoline
's
a
notty
,
notty
man
,
and
has
n't
no
business
to
go
on
the
lardy-da
.
But
I
think
she
suspected
me
up
to
the
last
.
Bags
I
writing
to
Aunt
Juley
about
this
.
Now
,
Meg
,
remember
—
bags
I
.
"
"
Bag
it
by
all
means
,
"
murmured
Margaret
,
putting
down
her
work
.
"
I
'm
not
sure
that
this
is
so
funny
,
Helen
.
It
means
some
horrible
volcano
smoking
somewhere
,
does
n't
it
?
"
"
I
do
n't
think
so
—
she
does
n't
really
mind
.
The
admirable
creature
is
n't
capable
of
tragedy
.
"
"
Her
husband
may
be
,
though
,
"
said
Margaret
,
moving
to
the
window
.
"
Oh
,
no
,
not
likely
.
No
one
capable
of
tragedy
could
have
married
Mrs.
Lanoline
.
"
"
Was
she
pretty
?
"
"
Her
figure
may
have
been
good
once
.
"
The
flats
,
their
only
outlook
,
hung
like
an
ornate
curtain
between
Margaret
and
the
welter
of
London
.
Her
thoughts
turned
sadly
to
house-hunting
.
Wickham
Place
had
been
so
safe
.
She
feared
,
fantastically
,
that
her
own
little
flock
might
be
moving
into
turmoil
and
squalor
,
into
nearer
contact
with
such
episodes
as
these
.
"
Tibby
and
I
have
again
been
wondering
where
we
'll
live
next
September
,
"
she
said
at
last
.
"
Tibby
had
better
first
wonder
what
he
'll
do
,
"
retorted
Helen
;
and
that
topic
was
resumed
,
but
with
acrimony
.
Then
tea
came
,
and
after
tea
Helen
went
on
preparing
her
speech
,
and
Margaret
prepared
one
,
too
,
for
they
were
going
out
to
a
discussion
society
on
the
morrow
.
But
her
thoughts
were
poisoned
.
Mrs.
Lanoline
had
risen
out
of
the
abyss
,
like
a
faint
smell
,
a
goblin
football
,
telling
of
a
life
where
love
and
hatred
had
both
decayed
.
Chapter
14
The
mystery
,
like
so
many
mysteries
,
was
explained
.
Next
day
,
just
as
they
were
dressed
to
go
out
to
dinner
,
a
Mr.
Bast
called
.
He
was
a
clerk
in
the
employment
of
the
Porphyrion
Fire
Insurance
Company
.
Thus
much
from
his
card
.
He
had
come
"
about
the
lady
yesterday
.
"
Thus
much
from
Annie
,
who
had
shown
him
into
the
dining-room
.
"
Cheers
,
children
!
"
cried
Helen
.
"
It
's
Mrs.
Lanoline
.
"
Tibby
was
interested
.
The
three
hurried
downstairs
,
to
find
,
not
the
gay
dog
they
expected
,
but
a
young
man
,
colourless
,
toneless
,
who
had
already
the
mournful
eyes
above
a
drooping
moustache
that
are
so
common
in
London
,
and
that
haunt
some
streets
of
the
city
like
accusing
presences
.
One
guessed
him
as
the
third
generation
,
grandson
to
the
shepherd
or
ploughboy
whom
civilization
had
sucked
into
the
town
;
as
one
of
the
thousands
who
have
lost
the
life
of
the
body
and
failed
to
reach
the
life
of
the
spirit
.
Hints
of
robustness
survived
in
him
,
more
than
a
hint
of
primitive
good
looks
,
and
Margaret
,
noting
the
spine
that
might
have
been
straight
,
and
the
chest
that
might
have
broadened
,
wondered
whether
it
paid
to
give
up
the
glory
of
the
animal
for
a
tail
coat
and
a
couple
of
ideas
.
Culture
had
worked
in
her
own
case
,
but
during
the
last
few
weeks
she
had
doubted
whether
it
humanized
the
majority
,
so
wide
and
so
widening
is
the
gulf
that
stretches
between
the
natural
and
the
philosophic
man
,
so
many
the
good
chaps
who
are
wrecked
in
trying
to
cross
it
.
She
knew
this
type
very
well
—
the
vague
aspirations
,
the
mental
dishonesty
,
the
familiarity
with
the
outsides
of
books
.
She
knew
the
very
tones
in
which
he
would
address
her
.
She
was
only
unprepared
for
an
example
of
her
own
visiting-card
.
"
You
would
n't
remember
giving
me
this
,
Miss
Schlegel
?
"
said
he
,
uneasily
familiar
.
"
No
;
I
ca
n't
say
I
do
.
"
"
Well
,
that
was
how
it
happened
,
you
see
.
"
"
Where
did
we
meet
,
Mr.
Bast
?
For
the
minute
I
do
n't
remember
.
"
"
It
was
a
concert
at
the
Queen
's
Hall
.
I
think
you
will
recollect
,
"
he
added
pretentiously
,
"
when
I
tell
you
that
it
included
a
performance
of
the
Fifth
Symphony
of
Beethoven
.
"
"
We
hear
the
Fifth
practically
every
time
it
's
done
,
so
I
'm
not
sure
—
do
you
remember
,
Helen
?
"
"
Was
it
the
time
the
sandy
cat
walked
round
the
balustrade
?
"
He
thought
not
.
"
Then
I
do
n't
remember
.
That
's
the
only
Beethoven
I
ever
remember
specially
.
"
"
And
you
,
if
I
may
say
so
,
took
away
my
umbrella
,
inadvertently
of
course
.
"
"
Likely
enough
,
"
Helen
laughed
,
"
for
I
steal
umbrellas
even
oftener
than
I
hear
Beethoven
.
Did
you
get
it
back
?
"
"
Yes
,
thank
you
,
Miss
Schlegel
.
"
"
The
mistake
arose
out
of
my
card
,
did
it
?
"
interposed
Margaret
.
"
Yes
,
the
mistake
arose
—
it
was
a
mistake
.
"
"
The
lady
who
called
here
yesterday
thought
that
you
were
calling
too
,
and
that
she
could
find
you
?
"
she
continued
,
pushing
him
forward
,
for
,
though
he
had
promised
an
explanation
,
he
seemed
unable
to
give
one
.
"
That
's
so
,
calling
too
—
a
mistake
.
"
"
Then
why
—
?
"
began
Helen
,
but
Margaret
laid
a
hand
on
her
arm
.
"
I
said
to
my
wife
,
"
he
continued
more
rapidly
—
"
I
said
to
Mrs.
Bast
,
'
I
have
to
pay
a
call
on
some
friends
,
'
and
Mrs.
Bast
said
to
me
,
'
Do
go
.
'
While
I
was
gone
,
however
,
she
wanted
me
on
important
business
,
and
thought
I
had
come
here
,
owing
to
the
card
,
and
so
came
after
me
,
and
I
beg
to
tender
my
apologies
,
and
hers
as
well
,
for
any
inconvenience
we
may
have
inadvertently
caused
you
.
"
"
No
inconvenience
,
"
said
Helen
;
"
but
I
still
do
n't
understand
.
"
An
air
of
evasion
characterized
Mr.
Bast
.
He
explained
again
,
but
was
obviously
lying
,
and
Helen
did
n't
see
why
he
should
get
off
.
She
had
the
cruelty
of
youth
.
Neglecting
her
sister
's
pressure
,
she
said
,
"
I
still
do
n't
understand
.
When
did
you
say
you
paid
this
call
?
"
"
Call
?
What
call
?
"
said
he
,
staring
as
if
her
question
had
been
a
foolish
one
,
a
favourite
device
of
those
in
mid-stream
.
"
This
afternoon
call
.
"
"
In
the
afternoon
,
of
course
!
"
he
replied
,
and
looked
at
Tibby
to
see
how
the
repartee
went
.
But
Tibby
,
himself
a
repartee
,
was
unsympathetic
,
and
said
,
"
Saturday
afternoon
or
Sunday
afternoon
?
"
"
S-Saturday
.
"
"
Really
!
"
said
Helen
;
"
and
you
were
still
calling
on
Sunday
,
when
your
wife
came
here
.
A
long
visit
.
"
"
I
do
n't
call
that
fair
,
"
said
Mr.
Bast
,
going
scarlet
and
handsome
.
There
was
fight
in
his
eyes
.
"
I
know
what
you
mean
,
and
it
is
n't
so
.
"
"
Oh
,
do
n't
let
us
mind
,
"
said
Margaret
,
distressed
again
by
odours
from
the
abyss
.
"
It
was
something
else
,
"
he
asserted
,
his
elaborate
manner
breaking
down
.
"
I
was
somewhere
else
to
what
you
think
,
so
there
!
"
"
It
was
good
of
you
to
come
and
explain
,
"
she
said
.
"
The
rest
is
naturally
no
concern
of
ours
.
"
"
Yes
,
but
I
want
—
I
wanted
—
have
you
ever
read
The
Ordeal
of
Richard
Feverel
?
"
Margaret
nodded
.
"
It
's
a
beautiful
book
.
I
wanted
to
get
back
to
the
Earth
,
do
n't
you
see
,
like
Richard
does
in
the
end
.
Or
have
you
ever
read
Stevenson
's
Prince
Otto
?
"
Helen
and
Tibby
groaned
gently
.
"
That
's
another
beautiful
book
.
You
get
back
to
the
Earth
in
that
.
I
wanted
—
"
He
mouthed
affectedly
.
Then
through
the
mists
of
his
culture
came
a
hard
fact
,
hard
as
a
pebble
.
"
I
walked
all
the
Saturday
night
,
"
said
Leonard
.
"
I
walked
.
"
A
thrill
of
approval
ran
through
the
sisters
.
But
culture
closed
in
again
.
He
asked
whether
they
had
ever
read
E
.
V.
Lucas
's
Open
Road
.
Said
Helen
,
"
No
doubt
it
's
another
beautiful
book
,
but
I
'd
rather
hear
about
your
road
.
"
"
Oh
,
I
walked
.
"
"
How
far
?
"
"
I
do
n't
know
,
nor
for
how
long
.
It
got
too
dark
to
see
my
watch
.
"
"
Were
you
walking
alone
,
may
I
ask
?
"
"
Yes
,
"
he
said
,
straightening
himself
;
"
but
we
'd
been
talking
it
over
at
the
office
.
There
's
been
a
lot
of
talk
at
the
office
lately
about
these
things
.
The
fellows
there
said
one
steers
by
the
Pole
Star
,
and
I
looked
it
up
in
the
celestial
atlas
,
but
once
out
of
doors
everything
gets
so
mixed
—
"
"
Do
n't
talk
to
me
about
the
Pole
Star
,
"
interrupted
Helen
,
who
was
becoming
interested
.
"
I
know
its
little
ways
.
It
goes
round
and
round
,
and
you
go
round
after
it
.
"
"
Well
,
I
lost
it
entirely
.
First
of
all
the
street
lamps
,
then
the
trees
,
and
towards
morning
it
got
cloudy
.
"
Tibby
,
who
preferred
his
comedy
undiluted
,
slipped
from
the
room
.
He
knew
that
this
fellow
would
never
attain
to
poetry
,
and
did
not
want
to
hear
him
trying
.
Margaret
and
Helen
remained
.
Their
brother
influenced
them
more
than
they
knew
:
in
his
absence
they
were
stirred
to
enthusiasm
more
easily
.
"
Where
did
you
start
from
?
"
cried
Margaret
.
"
Do
tell
us
more
.
"
"
I
took
the
Underground
to
Wimbledon
.
As
I
came
out
of
the
office
I
said
to
myself
,
'
I
must
have
a
walk
once
in
a
way
.
If
I
do
n't
take
this
walk
now
,
I
shall
never
take
it
.
'
I
had
a
bit
of
dinner
at
Wimbledon
,
and
then
—
"
"
But
not
good
country
there
,
is
it
?
"
"
It
was
gas-lamps
for
hours
.
Still
,
I
had
all
the
night
,
and
being
out
was
the
great
thing
.
I
did
get
into
woods
,
too
,
presently
.
"
"
Yes
,
go
on
,
"
said
Helen
.
"
You
've
no
idea
how
difficult
uneven
ground
is
when
it
's
dark
.
"
"
Did
you
actually
go
off
the
roads
?
"
"
Oh
yes
.
I
always
meant
to
go
off
the
roads
,
but
the
worst
of
it
is
that
it
's
more
difficult
to
find
one
's
way
.
"
"
Mr.
Bast
,
you
're
a
born
adventurer
,
"
laughed
Margaret
.
"
No
professional
athlete
would
have
attempted
what
you
've
done
.
It
's
a
wonder
your
walk
did
n't
end
in
a
broken
neck
.
Whatever
did
your
wife
say
?
"
"
Professional
athletes
never
move
without
lanterns
and
compasses
,
"
said
Helen
.
"
Besides
,
they
ca
n't
walk
.
It
tires
them
.
Go
on
.
"
"
I
felt
like
R
.
L
.
S.
You
probably
remember
how
in
Virginibus
—
"
"
Yes
,
but
the
wood
.
This
'
ere
wood
.
How
did
you
get
out
of
it
?
"
"
I
managed
one
wood
,
and
found
a
road
the
other
side
which
went
a
good
bit
uphill
.
I
rather
fancy
it
was
those
North
Downs
,
for
the
road
went
off
into
grass
,
and
I
got
into
another
wood
.
That
was
awful
,
with
gorse
bushes
.
I
did
wish
I
'd
never
come
,
but
suddenly
it
got
light
—
just
while
I
seemed
going
under
one
tree
.
Then
I
found
a
road
down
to
a
station
,
and
took
the
first
train
I
could
back
to
London
.
"
"
But
was
the
dawn
wonderful
?
"
asked
Helen
.
With
unforgettable
sincerity
he
replied
,
"
No.
"
The
word
flew
again
like
a
pebble
from
the
sling
.
Down
toppled
all
that
had
seemed
ignoble
or
literary
in
his
talk
,
down
toppled
tiresome
R
.
L
.
S.
and
the
"
love
of
the
earth
"
and
his
silk
top-hat
.
In
the
presence
of
these
women
Leonard
had
arrived
,
and
he
spoke
with
a
flow
,
an
exultation
,
that
he
had
seldom
known
.
"
The
dawn
was
only
grey
,
it
was
nothing
to
mention
—
"
"
Just
a
grey
evening
turned
upside
down
.
I
know
.
"
"
—
and
I
was
too
tired
to
lift
up
my
head
to
look
at
it
,
and
so
cold
too
.
I
'm
glad
I
did
it
,
and
yet
at
the
time
it
bored
me
more
than
I
can
say
.
And
besides
—
you
can
believe
me
or
not
as
you
choose
—
I
was
very
hungry
.
That
dinner
at
Wimbledon
—
I
meant
it
to
last
me
all
night
like
other
dinners
.
I
never
thought
that
walking
would
make
such
a
difference
.
Why
,
when
you
're
walking
you
want
,
as
it
were
,
a
breakfast
and
luncheon
and
tea
during
the
night
as
well
,
and
I
'd
nothing
but
a
packet
of
Woodbines
.
Lord
,
I
did
feel
bad
!
Looking
back
,
it
was
n't
what
you
may
call
enjoyment
.
It
was
more
a
case
of
sticking
to
it
.
I
did
stick
.
I
—
I
was
determined
.
Oh
,
hang
it
all
!
what
's
the
good
—
I
mean
,
the
good
of
living
in
a
room
for
ever
?
There
one
goes
on
day
after
day
,
same
old
game
,
same
up
and
down
to
town
,
until
you
forget
there
is
any
other
game
.
You
ought
to
see
once
in
a
way
what
's
going
on
outside
,
if
it
's
only
nothing
particular
after
all
.
"
"
I
should
just
think
you
ought
,
"
said
Helen
,
sitting
on
the
edge
of
the
table
.
The
sound
of
a
lady
's
voice
recalled
him
from
sincerity
,
and
he
said
:
"
Curious
it
should
all
come
about
from
reading
something
of
Richard
Jefferies
.
"
"
Excuse
me
,
Mr.
Bast
,
but
you
're
wrong
there
.
It
did
n't
.
It
came
from
something
far
greater
.
"
But
she
could
not
stop
him
.
Borrow
was
imminent
after
Jefferies
—
Borrow
,
Thoreau
,
and
sorrow
.
R
.
L
.
S.
brought
up
the
rear
,
and
the
outburst
ended
in
a
swamp
of
books
.
No
disrespect
to
these
great
names
.
The
fault
is
ours
,
not
theirs
.
They
mean
us
to
use
them
for
sign-posts
,
and
are
not
to
blame
if
,
in
our
weakness
,
we
mistake
the
sign-post
for
the
destination
.
And
Leonard
had
reached
the
destination
.
He
had
visited
the
county
of
Surrey
when
darkness
covered
its
amenities
,
and
its
cosy
villas
had
re-entered
ancient
night
.
Every
twelve
hours
this
miracle
happens
,
but
he
had
troubled
to
go
and
see
for
himself
.
Within
his
cramped
little
mind
dwelt
something
that
was
greater
than
Jefferies
'
books
—
the
spirit
that
led
Jefferies
to
write
them
;
and
his
dawn
,
though
revealing
nothing
but
monotones
,
was
part
of
the
eternal
sunrise
that
shows
George
Borrow
Stonehenge
.
"
Then
you
do
n't
think
I
was
foolish
?
"
he
asked
,
becoming
again
the
naïve
and
sweet-tempered
boy
for
whom
Nature
had
intended
him
.
"
Heavens
,
no
!
"
replied
Margaret
.
"
Heaven
help
us
if
we
do
!
"
replied
Helen
.
"
I
'm
very
glad
you
say
that
.
Now
,
my
wife
would
never
understand
—
not
if
I
explained
for
days
.
"
"
No
,
it
was
n't
foolish
!
"
cried
Helen
,
her
eyes
aflame
.
"
You
've
pushed
back
the
boundaries
;
I
think
it
splendid
of
you
.
"
"
You
've
not
been
content
to
dream
as
we
have
—
"
"
Though
we
have
walked
,
too
—
"
"
I
must
show
you
a
picture
upstairs
—
"
Here
the
door-bell
rang
.
The
hansom
had
come
to
take
them
to
their
evening
party
.
"
Oh
,
bother
,
not
to
say
dash
—
I
had
forgotten
we
were
dining
out
;
but
do
,
do
,
come
round
again
and
have
a
talk
.
"
"
Yes
,
you
must
—
do
,
"
echoed
Margaret
.
Leonard
,
with
extreme
sentiment
,
replied
:
"
No
,
I
shall
not
.
It
's
better
like
this
.
"
"
Why
better
?
"
asked
Margaret
.
"
No
,
it
is
better
not
to
risk
a
second
interview
.
I
shall
always
look
back
on
this
talk
with
you
as
one
of
the
finest
things
in
my
life
.
Really
.
I
mean
this
.
We
can
never
repeat
.
It
has
done
me
real
good
,
and
there
we
had
better
leave
it
.
"
"
That
's
rather
a
sad
view
of
life
,
surely
.
"
"
Things
so
often
get
spoiled
.
"
"
I
know
,
"
flashed
Helen
,
"
but
people
do
n't
.
"
He
could
not
understand
this
.
He
continued
in
a
vein
which
mingled
true
imagination
and
false
.
What
he
said
was
n't
wrong
,
but
it
was
n't
right
,
and
a
false
note
jarred
.
One
little
twist
,
they
felt
,
and
the
instrument
might
be
in
tune
.
One
little
strain
,
and
it
might
be
silent
for
ever
.
He
thanked
the
ladies
very
much
,
but
he
would
not
call
again
.
There
was
a
moment
's
awkwardness
,
and
then
Helen
said
:
"
Go
,
then
;
perhaps
you
know
best
;
but
never
forget
you
're
better
than
Jefferies
.
"
And
he
went
.
Their
hansom
caught
him
up
at
the
corner
,
passed
with
a
waving
of
hands
,
and
vanished
with
its
accomplished
load
into
the
evening
.
London
was
beginning
to
illuminate
herself
against
the
night
.
Electric
lights
sizzled
and
jagged
in
the
main
thoroughfares
,
gas-lamps
in
the
side
streets
glimmered
a
canary
gold
or
green
.
The
sky
was
a
crimson
battlefield
of
spring
,
but
London
was
not
afraid
.
Her
smoke
mitigated
the
splendour
,
and
the
clouds
down
Oxford
Street
were
a
delicately
painted
ceiling
,
which
adorned
while
it
did
not
distract
.
She
has
never
known
the
clear-cut
armies
of
the
purer
air
.
Leonard
hurried
through
her
tinted
wonders
,
very
much
part
of
the
picture
.
His
was
a
grey
life
,
and
to
brighten
it
he
had
ruled
off
a
few
corners
for
romance
.
The
Miss
Schlegels
—
or
,
to
speak
more
accurately
,
his
interview
with
them
—
were
to
fill
such
a
corner
,
nor
was
it
by
any
means
the
first
time
that
he
had
talked
intimately
to
strangers
.
The
habit
was
analogous
to
a
debauch
,
an
outlet
,
though
the
worst
of
outlets
,
for
instincts
that
would
not
be
denied
.
Terrifying
him
,
it
would
beat
down
his
suspicions
and
prudence
until
he
was
confiding
secrets
to
people
whom
he
had
scarcely
seen
.
It
brought
him
many
fears
and
some
pleasant
memories
.
Perhaps
the
keenest
happiness
he
had
ever
known
was
during
a
railway
journey
to
Cambridge
,
where
a
decent-mannered
undergraduate
had
spoken
to
him
.
They
had
got
into
conversation
,
and
gradually
Leonard
flung
reticence
aside
,
told
some
of
his
domestic
troubles
,
and
hinted
at
the
rest
.
The
undergraduate
,
supposing
they
could
start
a
friendship
,
asked
him
to
"
coffee
after
hall
,
"
which
he
accepted
,
but
afterwards
grew
shy
,
and
took
care
not
to
stir
from
the
commercial
hotel
where
he
lodged
.
He
did
not
want
Romance
to
collide
with
the
Porphyrion
,
still
less
with
Jacky
,
and
people
with
fuller
,
happier
lives
are
slow
to
understand
this
.
To
the
Schlegels
,
as
to
the
undergraduate
,
he
was
an
interesting
creature
,
of
whom
they
wanted
to
see
more
.
But
they
to
him
were
denizens
of
Romance
,
who
must
keep
to
the
corner
he
had
assigned
them
,
pictures
that
must
not
walk
out
of
their
frames
.
His
behaviour
over
Margaret
's
visiting-card
had
been
typical
.
His
had
scarcely
been
a
tragic
marriage
.
Where
there
is
no
money
and
no
inclination
to
violence
tragedy
cannot
be
generated
.
He
could
not
leave
his
wife
,
and
he
did
not
want
to
hit
her
.
Petulance
and
squalor
were
enough
.
Here
"
that
card
"
had
come
in
.
Leonard
,
though
furtive
,
was
untidy
,
and
left
it
lying
about
.
Jacky
found
it
,
and
then
began
,
"
What
's
that
card
,
eh
?
"
"
Yes
,
do
n't
you
wish
you
knew
what
that
card
was
?
"
"
Len
,
who
's
Miss
Schlegel
?
"
etc.
Months
passed
,
and
the
card
,
now
as
a
joke
,
now
as
a
grievance
,
was
handed
about
,
getting
dirtier
and
dirtier
.
It
followed
them
when
they
moved
from
Cornelia
Road
to
Tulse
Hill
.
It
was
submitted
to
third
parties
.
A
few
inches
of
pasteboard
,
it
became
the
battlefield
on
which
the
souls
of
Leonard
and
his
wife
contended
.
Why
did
he
not
say
,
"
A
lady
took
my
umbrella
,
another
gave
me
this
that
I
might
call
for
my
umbrella
"
?
Because
Jacky
would
have
disbelieved
him
?
Partly
,
but
chiefly
because
he
was
sentimental
.
No
affection
gathered
round
the
card
,
but
it
symbolized
the
life
of
culture
,
that
Jacky
should
never
spoil
.
At
night
he
would
say
to
himself
,
"
Well
,
at
all
events
,
she
does
n't
know
about
that
card
.
Yah
!
done
her
there
!
"
Poor
Jacky
!
she
was
not
a
bad
sort
,
and
had
a
great
deal
to
bear
.
She
drew
her
own
conclusion
—
she
was
only
capable
of
drawing
one
conclusion
—
and
in
the
fulness
of
time
she
acted
upon
it
.
All
the
Friday
Leonard
had
refused
to
speak
to
her
,
and
had
spent
the
evening
observing
the
stars
.
On
the
Saturday
he
went
up
,
as
usual
,
to
town
,
but
he
came
not
back
Saturday
night
nor
Sunday
morning
,
nor
Sunday
afternoon
.
The
inconvenience
grew
intolerable
,
and
though
she
was
now
of
a
retiring
habit
,
and
shy
of
women
,
she
went
up
to
Wickham
Place
.
Leonard
returned
in
her
absence
.
The
card
,
the
fatal
card
,
was
gone
from
the
pages
of
Ruskin
,
and
he
guessed
what
had
happened
.
"
Well
?
"
he
had
exclaimed
,
greeting
her
with
peals
of
laughter
.
"
I
know
where
you
've
been
,
but
you
do
n't
know
where
I
've
been
.
"
Jacky
sighed
,
said
,
"
Len
,
I
do
think
you
might
explain
,
"
and
resumed
domesticity
.
Explanations
were
difficult
at
this
stage
,
and
Leonard
was
too
silly
—
or
it
is
tempting
to
write
,
too
sound
a
chap
to
attempt
them
.
His
reticence
was
not
entirely
the
shoddy
article
that
a
business
life
promotes
,
the
reticence
that
pretends
that
nothing
is
something
,
and
hides
behind
the
Daily
Telegraph
.
The
adventurer
,
also
,
is
reticent
,
and
it
is
an
adventure
for
a
clerk
to
walk
for
a
few
hours
in
darkness
.
You
may
laugh
at
him
,
you
who
have
slept
nights
on
the
veldt
,
with
your
rifle
beside
you
and
all
the
atmosphere
of
adventure
past
.
And
you
also
may
laugh
who
think
adventures
silly
.
But
do
not
be
surprised
if
Leonard
is
shy
whenever
he
meets
you
,
and
if
the
Schlegels
rather
than
Jacky
hear
about
the
dawn
.
That
the
Schlegels
had
not
thought
him
foolish
became
a
permanent
joy
.
He
was
at
his
best
when
he
thought
of
them
.
It
buoyed
him
as
he
journeyed
home
beneath
fading
heavens
.
Somehow
the
barriers
of
wealth
had
fallen
,
and
there
had
been
—
he
could
not
phrase
it
—
a
general
assertion
of
the
wonder
of
the
world
.
"
My
conviction
,
"
says
the
mystic
,
"
gains
infinitely
the
moment
another
soul
will
believe
in
it
,
"
and
they
had
agreed
that
there
was
something
beyond
life
's
daily
grey
.
He
took
off
his
top-hat
and
smoothed
it
thoughtfully
.
He
had
hitherto
supposed
the
unknown
to
be
books
,
literature
,
clever
conversation
,
culture
.
One
raised
oneself
by
study
,
and
got
upsides
with
the
world
.
But
in
that
quick
interchange
a
new
light
dawned
.
Was
that
something
"
walking
in
the
dark
among
the
surburban
hills
?
He
discovered
that
he
was
going
bareheaded
down
Regent
Street
.
London
came
back
with
a
rush
.
Few
were
about
at
this
hour
,
but
all
whom
he
passed
looked
at
him
with
a
hostility
that
was
the
more
impressive
because
it
was
unconscious
.
He
put
his
hat
on
.
It
was
too
big
;
his
head
disappeared
like
a
pudding
into
a
basin
,
the
ears
bending
outwards
at
the
touch
of
the
curly
brim
.
He
wore
it
a
little
backwards
,
and
its
effect
was
greatly
to
elongate
the
face
and
to
bring
out
the
distance
between
the
eyes
and
the
moustache
.
Thus
equipped
,
he
escaped
criticism
.
No
one
felt
uneasy
as
he
titupped
along
the
pavements
,
the
heart
of
a
man
ticking
fast
in
his
chest
.
Chapter
15
The
sisters
went
out
to
dinner
full
of
their
adventure
,
and
when
they
were
both
full
of
the
same
subject
,
there
were
few
dinner-parties
that
could
stand
up
against
them
.
This
particular
one
,
which
was
all
ladies
,
had
more
kick
in
it
than
most
,
but
succumbed
after
a
struggle
.
Helen
