toexpect
such
feelings
except
from
men
and
women
?
”
went
on
Brown
;
“
the
gods
,
you
know
,
have
other
things
to
do
.
I
suppose
,
”
he
added
bitterly
,
“
that
they
had
a
godlike
life
like
their
representatives
,
the
poets
and
artists
,
on
earth
,
creating
only
for
their
amusement
,
and
keeping
every
disagreeable
sight
,
or
sound
,
or
feeling
,
or
suspicion
away
from
them
.
”
Anne
was
accustomed
to
such
hits
at
Hamlin
;
they
were
too
true
to
be
refuted
,
and
too
spiteful
to
be
accepted
;
and
now
she
was
too
much
absorbed
to
notice
any
of
them
.
“
I
don’t
know
exactly
what
you
are
driving
at
,
Dick
,
”
she
said
.
“
I
don’t
understand
your
theory
about
man
and
God
,
and
right
and
wrong
;
it
is
misty
to
me
.
But
still
it
seems
—
I
don’t
know
how
—
as
if
,
could
I
only
understand
it
,
it
would
make
a
great
difference
to
me
.
”
“
It
must
make
a
great
difference
to
every
honest
person
.
You
have
no
religion
,
Anne
.
”
“
No.
I
thought
religion
was
all
bosh
;
merely
a
sort
of
silly
pretty
delusion
,
like
love
and
all
that
;
”
and
Anne
thought
bitterly
how
her
own
only
religion
,
her
love
for
Hamlin
,
her
desire
to
become
worthy
of
his
goodness
,
had
lamentably
betrayed
her
.
“
Without
religion
life
is
death
,
”
said
Brown
,
with
his
positivistic
solemnity
.
Anne
looked
at
him
contemptuously
;
she
had
so
often
heard
people
talk
solemnly
like
that
.
Did
not
Hamlin
talk
in
that
way
about
the
religion
of
beauty
,
and
Dennistoun
about
the
religion
of
love
,
by
which
he
meant
lust
?
“
It
is
all
very
fine
;
but
I
don’t
much
believe
in
religions
.
There
is
nothing
worth
worshipping
;
all
is
fetish
,
at
best
half
silver
and
half
clay
.
”
“
You
don’t
believe
in
any
religion
,
Anne
,
because
you
have
never
tried
to
find
one
.
”
“
I
have
looked
in
the
Gospel
,
and
in
the
‘Imitation
of
Christ
,
’
and
in
my
own
heart
,
Dick
;
and
what
I
have
found
there
is
ignored
in
the
scheme
on
which
the
world
is
made
;
because
I
have
read
there
of
love
and
justice
and
mercy
,
and
I
have
not
found
the
love
and
justice
and
mercy
which
presided
over
creation
.
”
“
I
told
you
that
the
world
was
not
made
by
man
,
and
that
it
is
man
who
has
conceived
good
and
evil
.
I
always
told
you
,
Anne
,
that
it
was
a
great
pity
that
you
should
read
only
books
upon
details
of
science
,
like
political
economy
and
so
forth
,
and
refuse
to
get
general
ideas
of
what
is
and
what
is
not
the
belief
of
our
age
.
”
“
Detail
knowledge
—
I
mean
knowledge
of
political
economy
and
physiology
and
so
forth
—
is
useful
;
it
can
be
applied
,
it
can
serve
to
make
people
a
little
less
wretched
.
What
is
the
use
of
your
general
ideas
?
Oh
,
I
know
;
the
religion
of
truth
,
the
worship
of
ideas
,
etc.
,
etc.
I
don’t
see
that
it
is
a
bit
nobler
to
worship
truth
than
to
worship
beauty
;
your
religion
of
science
is
only
another
form
of
selfish
æstheticism
:
your
friends
hanker
after
knowledge
,
as
my
friends
hanker
after
beautiful
pictures
,
and
music
,
and
poetry
,
and
women
;
and
as
my
people
dignify
their
appetites
with
the
name
of
religion
of
beauty
,
so
do
yours
sanctify
theirs
as
the
worship
of
truth
.
All
that
merely
makes
the
world
more
cold
and
black
in
my
eyes
.
”
“
These
general
ideas
,
”
answered
Brown
,
“
are
what
prevent
me
from
being
as
wretched
as
you
are
.
Do
you
call
that
useless
?
”
“
That
is
just
what
Mr
Hamlin
says
about
beauty
,
and
Chough
about
the
Eternal
Feminine
.
But
I
don’t
see
that
the
world
gains
by
this
devotion
.
”
“
I
know
nothing
of
Hamlin’s
or
Chough’s
opinions
,
”
interrupted
Brown
,
impatiently
;
“
but
I
know
that
if
you
permit
yourself
to
continue
in
this
kind
of
pessimism
you
will
enervate
your
soul
,
Anne
.
It
seems
very
noble
and
austere
,
and
all
that
sort
of
bosh
;
but
there
is
just
the
same
fascination
in
it
as
there
is
in
any
morbid
excitement
,
and
just
the
same
debasement
of
the
individual
in
indulging
therein
.
”
His
words
seemed
to
go
through
Anne
.
Was
she
becoming
selfish
,
weak
,
self‐indulgent
?
The
terror
of
it
sickened
her
.
And
was
everything
,
however
noble
it
seemed
—
love
,
beauty
,
nay
,
even
her
indignation
at
the
world’s
evil
—
only
a
snare
?
“
Will
you
teach
me
,
Dick
?
”
she
said
,
after
a
moment
.
“
I
don’t
much
believe
in
your
religion
—
positivism
,
I
suppose
it
is
—
for
all
religions
seem
to
me
to
turn
out
,
oh
,
so
empty
,
after
promising
so
much
.
But
if
you
will
tell
me
,
or
give
me
books
to
read
,
you
know
I
will
do
my
best
to
understand
.
”
“
You
are
a
noble
girl
,
Anne
,
”
said
Brown
half
audibly
,
fixing
his
eyes
on
Anne’s
.
“
I
did
not
think
there
was
a
woman
so
strong
,
and
truthful
,
and
fair‐minded
as
you
—
well
—
in
the
whole
world
.
”
“
You
always
think
people
base
,
Dick
,
”
she
answered
sadly
.
“
It
is
a
wretched
mistake
,
but
not
so
bad
a
one
for
yourself
as
always
to
think
them
noble
.
”
Richard
Brown
lent
Anne
a
number
of
books
,
and
he
often
came
of
an
evening
when
Hamlin
was
gone
to
Madame
Elaguine’s
spiritual
séances
(
for
despite
his
scepticism
he
found
himself
attracted
by
the
mysticism
with
which
Edmund
Lewis
had
easily
infected
his
cousin
)
,
and
talked
them
over
with
her
.
He
took
her
also
to
hear
the
lectures
of
a
friend
of
his
,
a
red‐haired
young
man
of
genius
,
dying
of
consumption
,
who
had
for
truth
and
righteousness
a
passion
such
as
other
men
may
have
for
sport
,
and
who
was
the
chief
preacher
of
the
secular
and
scientific
religion
with
which
Brown
was
imbued
,
and
with
which
he
was
seeking
to
imbue
Anne
.
Anne
was
not
so
quick
in
being
converted
as
her
cousin
had
expected
;
she
was
slow
of
thought
,
and
her
earnestness
,
her
honesty
,
perhaps
also
a
painful
remembrance
of
so
many
other
deluded
hopes
,
made
her
sceptical
.
But
,
little
by
little
,
Anne
was
converted
;
and
,
as
her
cousin
had
foretold
,
she
was
happier
.
The
world
and
its
contradictions
became
simpler
in
her
eyes
,
and
she
became
once
more
confident
of
good
.
Moreover
,
what
Brown
never
guessed
,
her
new
faith
in
the
triumph
of
right
,
her
new
belief
in
the
necessity
of
doing
one’s
duty
for
the
sake
of
mankind
and
of
progress
,
had
at
once
given
her
a
more
serene
determination
to
accomplish
her
duty
towards
Hamlin
;
and
,
what
was
more
important
,
it
had
taken
away
her
thoughts
a
little
from
her
own
position
of
impotence
and
isolation
and
probable
degradation
.
And
perhaps
,
unconsciously
also
to
Anne
,
she
felt
less
isolated
now
:
she
felt
as
if
in
this
rough
,
brutal
,
vain
philanthropist
,
who
was
so
honest
,
for
all
his
petty
vanity
,
and
who
was
so
desirous
of
her
good
,
despite
all
his
former
contemptuousness
,
she
had
gained
what
she
had
never
had
,
and
had
yet
always
vaguely
wanted
,
—
some
one
for
her
to
understand
and
to
understand
her
,
to
help
and
be
helped
by
—
not
an
ideal
being
to
adore
as
she
had
adored
Hamlin
,
but
a
good
,
wholesome
,
strong
reality
whom
she
could
love
as
a
brother
.
“
I
owe
a
great
deal
to
you
,
dear
old
Dick
,
”
she
said
one
day
,
taking
his
hand
;
“
I
am
so
glad
I
would
not
let
you
continue
to
despise
me
.
”
Brown
flushed
,
and
his
cynical
smile
failed
him
.
“
Despise
you
?
Oh
Anne
,
how
could
I
—
”
he
exclaimed
.
But
suddenly
he
checked
himself
.
END
OF
THE
SECOND
VOLUME
.
PRINTED
BY
WILLIAM
BLACKWOOD
AND
SONS
.
BOOK
VII
.
(
Continued
)
MISS
BROWN
.
CHAPTER
II
.
WHILE
Anne
was
being
indoctrinated
with
her
cousin’s
philosophical
theories
,
Hamlin
had
little
by
little
let
himself
be
drawn
into
the
little
clique
of
more
mystical
and
Bohemian
pre‐Raphaelites
whom
Edmund
Lewis
had
collected
round
Madame
Elaguine
.
The
old‐fashioned
,
long‐established
æsthetes
,
who
believed
that
artistic
salvation
resided
solely
in
themselves
and
their
kith
and
kin
,
and
who
strangely
muddled
together
the
theories
of
an
esoteric
school
and
the
prejudice
of
the
untravelled
Briton
,
decidedly
set
their
face
against
Madame
Elaguine
.
They
had
not
liked
Anne
Brown
because
she
was
not
sufficiently
engaging
;
but
they
thoroughly
hated
Sacha
Elaguine
because
she
was
too
fascinating
.
“
A
nasty
,
ignorant
,
frivolous
little
woman
,
”
said
Mrs
Spencer
,
who
was
the
spokeswoman
of
the
party
;
“
a
woman
with
no
sense
of
responsibility
whatever
.
Did
you
hear
the
way
in
which
she
spoke
of
those
horrible
French
painters
?
That
she
actually
dared
to
talk
to
papa
about
that
Monsieur
Page
,
vulgar
,
base
creature
that
he
is
!
”
And
the
older
people
,
and
the
women
of
the
æsthetic
world
—
the
spinsters
with
dishevelled
locks
and
overflowing
hearts
,
who
kept
little
garlanded
lamps
before
the
photographs
of
puny
English
painters
and
booted
and
red‐shirted
American
poets
,
all
agreed
with
her
.
But
the
younger
men
merely
laughed
,
and
neglected
the
solemn
,
smut‐engrained
parlours
of
Bloomsbury
,
the
chilly
,
ascetic
studios
of
Hampstead
,
for
Madame
Elaguine’s
curious
,
disorderly
,
charming
house
in
Kensington
—
the
house
patched
up
with
old
lodging‐house
furniture
and
all
manner
of
Eastern
stuffs
and
brocades
,
crowded
with
a
woman’s
nick‐nacks
,
strewn
with
French
novels
and
poems
,
and
redolent
of
cigarettes
and
Russian
perfumes
.
For
there
was
in
this
delicate
,
nervous
little
creature
,
eaten
up
with
love
of
excitement
,
something
which
acted
as
a
spell
upon
most
men
;
and
it
was
curious
to
see
how
she
managed
to
make
them
all
in
love
with
her
,
and
at
the
same
time
excite
no
jealousy
.
“
Do
you
think
Circe’s
pigs
were
jealous
of
each
other
?
”
asked
Mrs
Spencer
,
when
this
peculiarity
was
pointed
out
to
her
by
Chough
.
“
Reduce
people
to
a
certain
level
,
and
they
will
be
satisfied
with
equality
.
”
Lewis
explained
it
as
being
due
to
Madame
Elaguine’s
magnetic
power
.
Whether
the
Russian
had
been
fully
converted
to
his
spiritualistic
theories
,
or
,
indeed
,
whether
it
was
possible
to
make
her
believe
seriously
in
anything
,
it
is
impossible
to
say
.
But
she
had
caught
the
spiritualistic
infection
from
Lewis
as
a
tinder
catches
fire
.
Nothing
in
the
world
could
suit
her
better
:
spiritualism
appealed
to
her
love
of
excitement
and
mystery
,
to
an
idealistic
and
mystical
strain
which
made
her
hanker
after
strange
supersensuous
contacts
and
occult
affinities
;
moreover
,
if
ever
there
was
a
woman
of
whom
one
might
believe
that
she
could
vibrate
with
disembodied
passion
,
and
come
in
contact
with
an
uncorporeal
world
,
it
was
this
emaciated
,
nervous
,
hysterical
creature
,
who
lived
off
coffee
and
cigarettes
,
and
lived
,
as
it
seemed
,
only
with
her
restless
mind
,
and
not
at
all
with
her
frail
,
incapable
body
.
“
I
feel
sometimes
,
”
she
would
say
to
her
friends
,
“
as
if
I
mixed
with
the
living
as
smoke
mingles
with
air
—
seeing
them
move
before
me
,
but
unable
to
clutch
them
or
be
clutched
by
them
,
coming
in
contact
only
with
their
passions
.
I
feel
as
if
I
could
more
easily
live
with
the
dead
—
mix
more
easily
with
them
.
It
is
terrible
.
I
sometimes
fancy
that
I
shall
fall
in
love
with
some
dead
creature
,
and
my
life
be
sucked
away
by
him
,
”
—
and
she
gave
a
little
shudder
.
Cosmo
Chough
listened
spell‐bound
with
admiration
,
twisting
and
untwisting
his
long
black
whiskers
.
What
a
woman
was
this
!
And
he
ruminated
over
a
new
chapter
of
his
Triumph
of
Womanhood
,
of
which
Sacha
Elaguine
—
“
Sacha
quite
short
,
”
as
she
bade
her
friends
call
her
—
should
be
the
heroine
.
Edmund
Lewis
smiled
his
sensual
lazy
smile
,
which
one
knew
that
he
imagined
to
be
the
prototype
of
the
cruel
and
lustful
mysterious
smile
of
the
men
and
women
,
and
creatures
neither
one
nor
the
other
or
both
,
who
came
from
beneath
his
fantastic
pencil
.
“
Has
it
never
occurred
to
you
,
”
he
said
,
in
his
luscious
voice
,
stooping
over
Madame
Elaguine’s
chair
,
“
that
you
may
rather
be
a
dead
creature
yourself
—
a
vampire
come
to
suck
out
some
one’s
life‐blood
?
”
“
Confound
that
Lewis
!
”
thought
Chough
.
“
Why
must
such
ideas
occur
to
him
,
a
mere
damned
painter
,
and
not
to
me
,
who
am
a
poet
?
”
and
he
made
a
note
of
the
vampire
.
Hamlin
was
standing
by
,
smoking
his
cigarette
sullenly
.
He
did
not
like
these
sort
of
liberties
which
Lewis
took
with
his
cousin
;
he
had
even
of
late
warned
her
that
,
although
his
friend
was
an
excellent
fellow
,
too
great
intimacy
with
him
might
prove
disagreeable
to
her
.
“
What
a
carrion‐feeding
fancy
you
have
,
Lewis
!
”
he
exclaimed
,
frowning
.
“
One
would
think
you
lived
on
corpses
,
in
order
to
be
more
in
harmony
with
those
beasts
of
spirits
of
yours
.
”
Lewis
laughed
triumphantly
;
but
Madame
Elaguine
,
to
his
amazement
,
cut
him
short
by
saying
—
“
Your
idea
may
be
very
amusing
,
Mr
Lewis
;
but
I
don’t
think
it
is
exactly
the
style
of
thing
for
a
man
to
say
to
a
woman
.
”
Lewis
,
who
was
never
abashed
,
merely
raised
his
eyebrows
.
“
I
thought
you
were
superior
to
your
sex
,
”
he
answered
.
“
If
Lewis
dare
to
talk
to
you
like
that
,
”
whispered
Hamlin
to
Sacha
,
“
I
shall
horsewhip
him
one
of
these
days
.
”
Madame
Elaguine
pressed
his
fingers
in
her
little
hot
hand
.
“
You
are
good
,
”
she
answered
,
in
what
was
like
the
buzz
of
a
gnat
,
but
infinitely
caressing
;
“
but
poor
Lewis
means
no
harm
:
he
is
very
bon
enfant
.
You
are
too
pure
and
proud
to
understand
other
men
.
Ah
,
Anne
is
a
happy
woman
!
”
The
last
words
were
scarcely
more
than
a
little
sigh
to
herself
;
but
Hamlin
caught
them
,
and
reddened
.
“
Anne
is
very
cold
,
”
he
said
briefly
;
then
added
,
as
if
to
justify
himself
in
his
own
eyes
—
“
I
suppose
all
very
passionate
natures
are
.
”
Sacha
shook
her
little
thin
childish
head
.
“
Oh
no
—
not
all
.
”
Miss
Brown
went
but
rarely
to
the
house
of
Hamlin’s
cousin
.
She
was
extremely
sorry
for
the
poor
little
woman’s
misfortunes
;
and
asking
herself
what
she
would
have
been
had
she
had
Madame
Elaguine’s
past
,
she
often
admired
how
the
Russian
had
kept
her
independence
and
self‐respect
,
and
serenity
and
cheerfulness
.
Yet
,
while
she
believed
herself
fully
to
appreciate
Sacha
,
and
invariably
defended
her
against
the
jealous
prudery
of
Mrs
Spencer
and
her
clique
,
Anne
somehow
felt
no
desire
to
see
much
of
her
.
She
set
it
down
to
her
own
narrowness
and
coldness
of
temper
.
“
I
am
too
one‐sided
to
have
friends
,
”
she
used
to
say
to
Mary
Leigh
;
“
I
feel
that
I
don’t
do
justice
enough
to
people
,
however
much
I
try
,
and
that
my
heart
does
not
go
out
to
meet
them
enough
.
I
think
I
would
do
my
best
for
them
;
but
I
can’t
love
them
or
be
loved
.
”
Poor
Mary
Leigh
was
silent
.
Anne
—
this
beautiful
noble
,
distant
,
somewhat
inscrutable
Anne
—
was
the
idol
of
the
enthusiastic
Irish
girl
.
She
had
often
longed
to
tell
her
so
;
she
longed
,
at
this
moment
,
to
put
her
arms
round
Anne’s
neck
,
and
say
quite
quietly
—
“
I
love
you
,
Anne
;
”
but
she
had
not
the
courage
.
How
much
may
this
sort
of
cowardice
,
called
reticence
,
cheat
people
of
?
The
knowledge
that
there
is
a
loving
heart
near
one
,
that
there
is
a
creature
whom
one
can
trust
,
that
the
world
is
not
a
desert
,
—
all
this
might
be
given
,
but
is
not
.
And
the
other
regrets
,
perhaps
throughout
life
,
that
word
which
remained
unspoken
,
that
kiss
which
remained
ungiven
,
and
would
have
been
as
the
draught
of
water
to
the
wearied
traveller
.
Anyhow
Anne
,
while
thinking
that
she
liked
Madame
Elaguine
,
somehow
did
not
care
to
see
much
of
her
.
What
she
could
do
for
her
she
did
willingly
.
Madame
Elaguine
wanted
the
child
to
learn
English
,
but
made
a
fuss
about
letting
her
have
a
governess
.
“
My
child’s
mind
must
be
my
own
mind
,
”
she
said
.
But
as
she
went
on
grieving
at
little
Helen’s
ignorance
,
and
her
own
incapacity
,
from
want
of
schooling
and
want
of
strength
,
to
teach
her
,
Anne
offered
to
teach
the
child
together
with
the
little
Chough
girls
,
who
were
still
her
pupils
.
Madame
Elaguine
was
rapturously
grateful
;
but
Helen
was
so
completely
spoilt
,
that
she
could
be
brought
to
Anne
only
when
she
fancied
it
herself
,
and
Anne
found
her
so
demoralised
that
she
really
did
not
like
to
bring
her
in
contact
with
the
Choughs
.
“
When
poor
little
Helen
is
ten
,
then
you
must
moralise
her
,
”
Madame
Elaguine
would
say
;
and
Helen
was
within
week
of
being
ten
,
and
Anne
,
much
as
she
disliked
asking
Madame
Elaguine
anything
,
urged
that
she
should
begin
to
be
taught
.
Moreover
,
Anne’s
time
was
too
much
taken
up
reading
under
Richard
Brown’s
directions
,
and
her
thoughts
were
too
much
preoccupied
to
make
her
feel
at
all
sociable
,
even
had
she
not
felt
an
instinctive
repugnance
to
the
sort
of
company
,
headed
by
Edmund
Lewis
,
which
she
knew
she
would
meet
at
Madame
Elaguine’s
.
However
,
one
evening
she
could
not
refuse
Sacha’s
invitation
,
more
especially
as
the
latter
,
evidently
to
please
Anne
,
had
invited
her
friends
the
two
Leighs
.
It
was
a
grand
spiritualistic
séance
.
Madame
Elaguine
was
in
great
excitement
,
and
Edmund
Lewis
was
radiant
.
But
Hamlin
looked
bored
and
pressed
.
“
I
hate
all
this
vulgar
twaddle
of
spiritualism
,
”
he
said
impatiently
to
Anne
.
Anne
loathed
it
:
the
triviality
disgusted
her
,
the
giving
up
of
one’s
will
to
another
revolted
her
,
and
she
could
not
understand
how
a
woman
could
endure
to
be
handled
and
breathed
upon
by
a
man
like
Lewis
.
Mary
Leigh
was
half
excited
and
half
amused
;
Marjory
,
the
strong‐minded
scoffer
,
had
determined
to
unmask
some
sort
of
trickery
.
The
séance
,
to
which
Edmund
Lewis
had
brought
a
famous
professional
medium
,
was
very
much
like
any
other
séance
:
a
darkened
room
,
a
company
of
people
partly
excited
,
partly
bored
;
expectation
,
disappointment
,
faith
,
incredulity
;
moving
of
tables
and
rapping
,
faint
music
,
half
visible
hands
.
“
The
whole
boxful
,
machinery
complete
,
all
the
newest
tricks
,
eighteenpence
,
”
as
little
Thaddy
O’Reilly
fiippantly
remarked
to
Anne
.
How
could
Madame
Elaguine
have
patience
with
such
rubbish
?
wondered
Miss
Brown
.
What
excitement
could
that
excitement‐loving
little
woman
,
with
a
real
mystery
in
her
own
life
,
find
in
all
this
stale
shibboleth
?
“
You
can’t
think
what
a
strange
,
delightful
sensation
I
have
at
these
moments
,
”
said
Sacha
to
Hamlin
,
as
her
little
soft
hand
touched
his
.
“
I
seem
to
feel
the
whole
current
of
your
life
streaming
through
me
,
and
mingling
with
mine
.
It
is
like
an
additional
sense
.
Do
you
understand
that
,
Anne
?
”
“
No
,
”
answered
Anne
,
briefly
.
“
I
feel
Mr
Hamlin’s
fingers
touching
mine
,
and
that’s
all
.
”
Hamlin
somehow
admired
Anne’s
answer
;
he
was
glad
it
was
so
,
—
had
she
felt
like
his
cousin
,
something
would
have
spoilt
in
an
ideal
of
his
;
and
yet
Anne’s
coldness
annoyed
him
.
“
The
spirits
are
reluctant
;
there
are
too
many
sceptics
in
the
room
,
”
said
Edmund
Lewis
,
angrily
.
“
Great
as
is
the
power
of
some
of
us
—
as
,
for
instance
,
of
Madame
Elaguine
—
I
feel
that
there
is
something
acting
as
a
non‐conductor
,
—
some
very
chilly
nature
here
.
”
But
nevertheless
,
when
the
company
was
giving
up
the
séance
as
spoilt
,
mysterious
sounds
were
heard
,
and
something
luminous
,
which
was
immediately
identified
as
a
pair
of
spirit‐hands
,
was
seen
to
float
over
the
table
.
“
Spirit‐hands
!
”
whispered
Edmund
Lewis
.
“
Wash‐leather
gloves
painted
over
with
luminous
paint
,
”
whispered
Thaddy
O’Reilly
.
“
A
wreath
!
”
whispered
Madame
Elaguine
.
Something
round
,
like
a
wreath
,
did
seem
to
float
,
supported
by
the
spirit‐hands
.
Some
said
it
was
oak
,
others
cypress
,
others
myrtle
;
but
it
soon
became
apparent
that
it
was
bay
.
“
For
Hamlin
!
”
whispered
the
guests
to
each
other
.
The
wreath
floated
unsteadily
over
the
heads
of
the
party
;
but
,
as
it
passed
Marjory
Leigh
,
that
evil‐minded
young
materialist
quickly
snatched
at
it
,
but
it
was
whisked
away
by
the
indignant
spirits
.
There
was
a
murmur
of
indignation
;
but
indignation
turned
into
triumph
when
suddenly
the
wreath
reappeared
,
and
hovered
for
two
good
minutes
over
Hamlin’s
head
.
There
was
a
cry
of
admiration
,
and
Madame
Elaguine
clapped
her
hands
.
But
Marjory
Leigh
struck
a
light
,
and
lit
the
candle
by
her
side
.
She
could
see
faintly
the
excited
faces
all
round
,
and
among
them
the
pale
face
of
Anne
Brown
,
scornful
and
angry
,
fixed
upon
that
of
Hamlin
,
who
was
flushed
,
hesitating
,
surprised
.
“
I
am
glad
the
spirits
have
such
good
taste
in
poetry
,
”
said
Marjory
Leigh
,
quietly
;
“
but
it
is
a
pity
that
they
should
not
have
crowned
Mr
Hamlin
,
like
Petrarch
and
Corinne
,
with
real
laurels
.
”
And
she
stretched
out
something
in
the
palm
of
her
hand
.
Every
one
crowded
round
,
and
took
it
up
by
turns
.
It
was
a
leaf
,
torn
and
broken
,
of
green
laurel
which
she
had
pulled
off
when
the
crown
had
passed
over
her
;
but
the
green
laurels
were
masses
of
stamped
paper
,
and
left
a
green
stain
in
the
hand
.
“
It
does
smack
a
little
of
a
French
pensionnat
de
demoiselles
distribution
of
prizes
;
you
will
get
the
little
book
dorésur
tranches
,
‘Avec
l’approbation
de
Monseigneur
l’Archevêque
de
Tours
,
’
and
‘Prix
décerné
à
M
.
Walter
Hamlin
,
’
written
inside
,
at
the
next
séance
,
”
cried
Thaddy
O’Reilly
.
“
Well
,
it
is
consoling
to
see
how
our
beloved
dead
keep
up
the
simple
habits
of
the
living
.
”
There
was
a
titter
.
Madame
Elaguine
burst
out
laughing
.
Hamlin
laughed
,
but
he
looked
black
as
thunder
.
“
You
brought
that
piece
of
green
paper
with
you
!
”
cried
Lewis
furiously
at
Marjory
Leigh
.
“
You
brought
it
to
insult
and
delude
us
!
It
is
disgraceful
.
”
“
My
dear
Lewis
,
”
said
Thaddy
O’Reilly
,
gently
,
“
remember
that
you
are
still
a
gentleman
,
and
not
yet
a
spirit
.
”
“
Had
I
known
that
there
was
to
be
any
crowning
,
I
should
certainly
have
brought
something
better
than
paper
laurels
,
”
said
Marjory
,
fiercely
.
“
I
never
thought
spirits
were
reduced
to
such
expedients
as
these
.
”
The
séance
came
to
an
end
.
The
lamps
were
lit
.
The
medium
dismissed
with
considerable
contumely
.
Edmund
Lewis
went
away
in
a
huff
;
and
Madame
Elaguine
,
who
cared
in
spiritualism
only
for
those
strange
thrills
which
she
had
before
described
,
laughed
a
great
deal
about
the
matter
,
and
settled
down
to
make
music
with
Cosmo
Chough
.
Hamlin
looked
as
if
he
wished
himself
a
thousand
miles
away
.
He
would
speak
with
no
one
;
he
was
angry
with
his
cousin
for
having
let
him
in
for
such
a
ridiculous
scene
,
and
angry
with
the
rest
of
the
company
for
having
witnessed
it
;
he
had
no
command
over
his
looks
;
and
while
Madame
Elaguine’s
curious
,
warm
,
childish
voice
throbbed
passionately
through
Schumann’s
songs
,
or
while
people
took
their
tea
and
talked
,
he
sat
aside
,
in
the
doorway
of
the
next
room
,
like
a
whipped
child
.
“
What
a
baby
Walter
is
!
”
whispered
Madame
Elaguine
,
laughing
,
to
Chough
.
But
Anne
did
not
laugh
.
She
felt
the
humiliation
not
of
the
paper
laurels
,
but
of
that
radiant
look
which
she
had
seen
in
Hamlin
when
the
lights
had
first
been
lit
.
And
she
was
indignant
with
Hamlin
for
taking
this
ridiculous
business
so
tragically
,
and
at
the
same
time
sorry
for
his
poor
,
wounded
,
unsympathised‐with
vanity
.
She
left
the
piano
,
where
she
had
been
sitting
near
Sacha
,
and
went
to
him
where
he
sat
disconsolately
looking
over
a
heap
of
newspapers
in
the
next
room
.
She
did
not
allude
to
the
scene
.
What
use
was
it
chiding
him
?
He
could
never
understand
.
She
talked
to
him
about
the
picture
which
he
was
painting
,
about
the
people
,
anything
to
make
him
feel
that
she
was
sorry
for
him
.
Hamlin
was
bitter
against
his
friends
;
he
began
once
more
his
tirades
against
modern
art
and
poetry
,
its
lifelessness
and
weakness
;
he
again
declared
himself
longing
for
a
different
life
;
he
again
,
passionately
and
delicately
,
called
upon
Anne
,
in
his
veiled
way
,
to
redeem
him
.
Anne
listened
sadly
.
She
knew
it
all
so
well
by
heart
,
this
vain
talk
which
was
to
be
the
daily
bread
of
her
soul
.
Suddenly
Hamlin’s
eye
fell
upon
Marjory
Leigh
,
who
was
seated
talking
with
Thaddy
O’Reilly
in
the
recess
of
a
window
.
“
I
wonder
you
can
endure
that
girl
,
Miss
Brown
!
”
he
cried
,
“
much
less
make
her
your
friend
.
”
“
Marjory
may
sometimes
be
rude
,
and
it
was
perhaps
not
very
good
manners
to
interrupt
the
séance
as
she
did
,
although
I
quite
sympathise
with
her
;
but
she
is
a
capital
girl
,
and
just
one
of
the
most
trustworthy
persons
I
know
.
”
“
She
is
a
humbug
!
”
exclaimed
Hamlin
,
crossly
and
violently
.
“
Doesn’t
she
set
up
for
philanthropy
,
and
self‐sacrifice
,
and
all
that
?
and
then
she
goes
to
parties
dressed
in
that
way
—
a
fit
beginning
for
the
wife
of
an
East
End
curate
,
for
a
man
like
Harry
Collett
!
”
“
Marjory’s
dress
does
not
cost
more
than
Harry
Collett’s
coats
,
”
answered
Anne
,
quietly
.
“
You
men
never
understand
such
things
,
and
think
because
a
girl’s
dress
is
showy
that
it
is
expensive
.
Of
course
Marjory
doesn’t
wear
æsthetic
things
,
and
it
would
be
absurd
if
she
did
;
but
I
happen
to
know
that
she
made
that
particular
dress
entirely
with
her
own
hands
.
”
“
I
know
nothing
about
the
dress
,
except
that
a
wife
of
Harry
Collett’s
should
not
go
about
like
a
peacock
.
But
I
do
know
,
”
cried
Hamlin
,
fiercely
,
“
that
it
is
disgraceful
for
a
girl
engaged
to
marry
,
and
to
marry
a
man
like
Harry
,
to
sit
the
whole
evening
in
a
corner
,
letting
a
jackanapes
like
O’Reilly
make
love
to
her
.
”
“
Marjory
has
been
sitting
with
Mr
O’Reilly
only
about
ten
minutes
,
”
answered
Anne
,
indignantly
,
“
and
she
has
known
him
ever
since
they
were
babies
.
I
think
it
is
too
ridiculous
if
a
girl
can’t
talk
to
a
young
man
at
a
party
without
being
treated
as
if
she
were
committing
an
infidelity
.
”
“
I
don’t
say
that
any
other
girl
talking
to
any
other
young
man
is
to
blame
,
”
said
Hamlin
,
still
hotly
;
“
but
I
say
that
a
woman
who
can
let
O’Reilly
flirt
with
her
throughout
the
evening
is
no
wife
for
Collett
;
and
I
have
a
good
mind
to
write
and
tell
him
so
,
”
and
Hamlin
looked
dignified
.
Anne
did
not
answer
at
first
.
She
was
filled
with
contempt
for
this
vain
childish
ill‐humour
,
which
was
taking
the
proportions
of
rabid
hatred
.
“
Marjory
is
my
friend
,
”
she
at
last
said
,
“
and
I
think
that
the
less
you
talk
such
nonsense
as
about
writing
to
Mr
Collett
,
the
better
.
”
“
I
will
,
upon
my
word
!
”
exclaimed
Hamlin
.
“
Marjory
Leigh
is
a
friend
of
yours
,
but
she
is
an
infamous
flirt
all
the
same
!
”
“
Why
does
Mr
Hamlin
glare
at
me
like
that
?
”
asked
Marjory
of
Anne
a
little
later
.
“
One
would
think
it
was
my
fault
that
the
spirits
crowned
him
with
paper
laurels
and
not
with
bay‐leaves
.
”
CHAPTER
III
.
ANNE
had
forgotten
all
about
the
séance
,
when
,
about
a
week
later
,
Mary
Leigh
arrived
at
Hammersmith
in
a
state
of
extreme
excitement
.
“
What
is
the
matter
,
Mary
?
”
asked
Anne
,
wondering
at
her
flushed
face
,
which
was
usually
so
quiet
.
“
Nothing
—
nothing
,
”
said
Mary
Leigh
,
looking
impatiently
at
some
visitors
who
were
present
.
“
I
spoilt
two
copper
plates
this
morning
,
and
shall
have
no
etchings
worth
exhibiting
.
I
suppose
that
has
put
me
out
of
sorts
.
”
But
the
visitors
had
scarcely
turned
their
backs
,
when
Mary
Leigh
turned
suddenly
towards
Miss
Brown
.
“
Oh
Anne
dear
,
a
dreadful
,
shameful
thing
has
happened
!
and
I
have
come
to
you
to
know
what
it
means
,
because
I
can’t
help
thinking
that
Mr
Hamlin
has
had
something
to
do
with
it
,
and
poor
Marjory
is
so
miserable
.
”
“
What
is
it
?
”
asked
Anne
,
a
vague
terror
coming
over
her
.
“
Why
,
Marjory
got
this
letter
to‐day
from
Harry
Collett
;
he
has
been
staying
with
his
mother
at
Wotton
for
the
last
week
.
Read
it
,
and
you
will
understand
.
”
Miss
Brown
took
the
letter
,
evidently
much
pulled
about
and
read
and
re‐read
,
from
Mary
Leigh
,
and
smoothed
it
out
and
read
it
slowly
;
while
her
friend
sat
by
,
looking
anxiously
at
her
face
.
The
letter
was
from
Marjory’s
intended
.
Harry
Collett
told
her
,
with
a
dignity
and
gentleness
,
a
desire
not
to
hurt
the
one
who
had
hurt
him
,
and
an
incapacity
of
hiding
his
great
pain
,
which
nearly
made
Anne
cry
,
that
his
eyes
had
at
length
been
opened
to
the
undesirableness
of
a
marriage
which
,
however
much
wished
for
by
him
,
could
not
satisfy
all
the
claims
of
a
nature
llke
Marjory’s
.
“
Much
as
I
have
looked
forward
to
our
marriage
,
”
wrote
poor
Harry
,
“
I
could
not
possibly
be
happy
if
I
suspected
that
it
did
not
give
you
everything
which
you
have
a
right
to
require
from
life
.
I
thank
God
for
having
sent
me
a
warning
in
time
,
for
having
let
me
understand
what
your
generosity
and
my
infatuation
would
have
hidden
to
me
—
namely
,
that
your
thoughts
have
,
despite
your
will
,
turned
elsewhere
;
that
your
nature
requires
a
life
of
greater
cheerfulness
and
variety
than
I
could
hope
to
give
it
.
And
,
indeed
,
I
am
beginning
also
to
understand
that
I
was
trying
to
reconcile
the
irreconcilable
—
that
a
man
who
has
elected
a
life
among
the
poor
,
has
no
right
to
share
its
privations
with
any
one
,
much
less
with
any
one
dear
to
him
;
and
I
see
that
I
was
on
the
verge
of
committing
the
sin
of
sacrificing
your
happiness
to
my
vocation
,
or
rather
to
my
unmanly
desire
to
have
the
hardness
of
my
vocation
sweetened
at
your
expense
.
Please
do
not
fancy
that
I
think
at
all
badly
of
you
;
I
think
badly
only
of
my
own
blindness
.
”
But
the
poor
curate’s
angelic
nature
could
not
resist
the
temptation
of
a
fling
at
his
supposed
rival
.
“
I
am
only
surprised
—
but
my
surprise
may
be
due
to
my
ignorance
,
”
he
added
,
“
at
the
person
who
engrosses
your
thoughts
.
I
should
never
have
thought
you
could
seriously
care
for
a
shallow
creature
like
O’Reilly
.
I
wish
you
to
be
happy
,
but
I
fear
you
will
not
be
solidly
happy
with
him
.
”
“
Do
you
understand
?
”
cried
Mary
Leigh
,
impatiently
;
“
some
one
has
written
to
Harry
some
horrid
lies
about
Marjory
and
Thaddy
O’Reilly
.
Oh
,
I
think
it
is
too
shameful
!
Marjory
,
who
has
not
seen
Thaddy
O’Reilly
more
than
twice
in
the
last
six
months
;
and
,
”
added
Mary
Leigh
,
with
an
agony
in
her
voice
,
“
I
fear
—
oh
,
I
fear
—
Anne
,
that
it
must
have
been
Mr
Hamlin
who
did
it
.
”
Anne
did
not
look
up
from
the
letter
.
She
was
very
white
,
and
her
face
full
of
shame
.
“
I
fear
it
must
,
”
she
answered
,
half
audibly
.
“
But
what
is
the
meaning
of
it
?
”
cried
Mary
.
“
What
can
Mr
Hamlin
know
about
the
matter
?
Why
,
he
scarcely
ever
sees
Marjory
.
I
don’t
believe
he
had
seen
her
for
nearly
six
weeks
before
that
party
at
Madame
Elaguine’s
.
Oh
,
Anne
,
do
you
think
it
is
Madame
Elaguine
,
that
horrid
little
Russian
,
who
did
it
?
”
“
Oh
no
,
”
answered
Anne
,
quickly
,
“
I
know
Sacha
Elaguine
has
not
done
it
;
I
don’t
believe
she
is
capable
of
doing
it
.
”
“
Then
you
think
?
.
.
.
”
“
I
fear
—
I
fear
Mr
Hamlin
did
it
.
”
There
was
a
dead
silence
.
Poor
Mary
Leigh
was
torn
by
her
indignation
for
her
sister
,
and
her
pain
at
the
shame
cast
upon
her
admired
Hamlin
,
and
through
him
upon
her
adored
Anne
.
“
What
can
I
do
?
If
only
I
knew
the
grounds
of
the
accusation
,
”
she
said
desperately
,
“
I
know
I
could
explain
them
away
to
Harry
.
I
know
that
Marjory
could
,
but
she
won’t
.
”
“
Has
Marjory
not
answered
Mr
Collett
?
”
Mary
Leigh
shook
her
head
.
“
Marjory
is
too
proud
and
self‐willed
.
She
is
disgusted
with
Harry
.
She
won’t
hear
his
name
mentioned
;
it
is
useless
.
Oh
,
it
is
dreadful
to
see
people
who
care
for
each
other
so
much
separated
in
this
way
,
by
a
mere
vile
groundless
calumny
,
which
one
cannot
even
refute
.
”
Anne
passed
her
hand
across
her
forehead
.
“
Mr
Hamlin
has
done
it
,
”
she
said
slowly
,
and
with
an
effort
,
“
and
he
must
undo
it
.
”
“
How
can
one
make
him
undo
such
a
thing
?
”
cried
Mary
,
hopelessly
.
“
I
will
tell
him
that
he
was
wrong
,
and
make
him
write
to
Harry
Collett
.
”
“
Oh
Annie
dear
,
you
are
good
”
—
and
Mary
Leigh
threw
herself
on
Anne’s
neck
—
“
for
I
know
how
dreadful
,
how
terrible
it
must
be
for
you
to
tell
him
that
he
has
acted
badly
.
”
“
It
is
not
the
first
time
,
”
answered
Anne
,
mournfully
.
“
Leave
me
the
letter
,
will
you
,
Mary
dear
?
”
Mary
Leigh
left
the
letter
with
Miss
Brown
;
and
that
evening
,
as
Anne
was
sitting
with
Hamlin
after
dinner
,
she
suddenly
dashed
into
the
subject
.
“
Do
you
remember
saying
,
the
other
night
,
at
your
cousin’s
,
that
you
would
write
to
Harry
Collett
about
the
flirtation
which
you
took
it
upon
yourself
to
imagine
between
Marjory
Leigh
and
Mr
O’Reilly
?
”
asked
Anne
.
Hamlin
looked
puzzled
.
“
I
remember
something
or
other
,
”
he
said
evasively
.
“
Did
you
write
to
Harry
Collett
?
”
“
I
had
occasion
to
write
to
Collett
about
some
books
I
had
left
at
Wotton
,
and
which
I
wanted
him
to
bring
up
to
town
on
his
return
.
”
“
But
did
you
mention
about
Marjory
and
Mr
O’Reilly
?
”
“
I
may
have
”
—
Hamlin
spoke
absently
—
“
yes
,
I
suppose
I
did
.
What
of
it
?
”
“
What
of
it
?
”
cried
Anne
,
indignantly
;
“
why
,
this
much
,
that
you
have
made
two
people
perfectly
miserable
,
and
that
Marjory’s
marriage
with
Mr
Collett
is
broken
off
,
”
and
she
handed
him
the
letter
.
Hamlin
looked
at
it
with
an
air
of
puzzled
indifference
.
“
I
don’t
understand
what
it’s
all
about
,
”
he
said
,
coolly
and
serenely
,
returning
the
letter
to
Anne
.
“
Then
you
did
not
say
anything
about
Marjory
to
Mr
Collett
?
”
“
Yes
—
I
did
—
I
certainly
think
I
did
.
I
can’t
exactly
remember
what
it
was
.
You
know
how
one
writes
letters
;
one
forgets
the
next
day
.
”
Anne
looked
at
him
with
wonder
.
So
after
having
,
momentarily
at
least
,
made
two
people
as
unhappy
as
was
well
possible
,
this
was
how
he
took
the
revelation
of
the
results
of
his
doings
.
“
Mr
Hamlin
,
”
said
Anne
,
sternly
,
“
you
know
that
you
never
believed
that
Marjory
Leigh
was
really
flirting
with
O’Reilly
;
and
you
know
that
you
wrote
to
Harry
Collett
,
and
made
him
believe
that
she
cared
for
another
man
.
”
“
I
don’t
know
anything
about
Miss
Leigh’s
doings
.
I
remember
noticing
her
talking
very
assiduously
that
evening
with
Thaddy
.
Perhaps
it
was
all
fancy
of
mine
;
I
have
no
doubt
it
was
.
I
just
mentioned
it
to
Collett
as
I
might
mention
anything
else
.
I
never
dreamed
that
it
would
annoy
him
.
”
“
You
thought
it
would
merely
annoy
her
?
”
asked
Anne
,
reproachfully
.
“
I
really
know
nothing
about
the
matter
.
I’m
not
responsible
for
what
I
may
have
thought
or
written
a
week
ago
,
much
less
for
all
these
complications
,
which
I
never
dreamed
of
.
”
“
Did
you
suppose
,
then
,
that
Harry
Collett
would
be
utterly
indifferent
to
being
given
to
understand
that
Marjory
cared
for
another
man
,
and
was
not
the
fit
wife
for
an
East
End
curate
,
as
you
expressed
it
?
”
“
I
don’t
know
.
I
wrote
,
and
thought
no
more
about
it
.
If
they
have
gone
and
quarrelled
about
it
,
I’m
very
sorry
—
and
that’s
all
I
can
say
.
”
Hamlin’s
tone
was
bored
and
slightly
impatient
.
He
had
evidently
not
the
smallest
shame
or
regret
for
what
he
had
done
.
“
Since
you
are
sorry
—
since
you
did
write
that
to
Collett
,
”
said
Anne
,
trying
to
speak
as
gently
as
possible
—
“
you
will
,
I
trust
,
do
what
you
can
to
repair
this
mischief
.
Marjory
Leigh
is
too
indignant
with
Harry
to
answer
him
at
all
.
Will
you
write
to
him
and
tell
him
that
it
was
all
a
mistake
—
all
owing
to
your
having
been
annoyed
with
Marjory
on
account
of
that
laurel
crown
business
—
and
that
there
was
no
foundation
for
all
you
said
?
You
will
make
amends
,
won’t
you
?
Do
write
at
once
.
”
Hamlin
had
risen
from
his
seat
,
and
his
face
had
taken
a
curious
obstinate
look
.
“
I’m
very
sorry
I
can’t
obey
you
,
Miss
Brown
,
”
he
said
,
“
but
it
appears
to
me
that
you
wish
me
to
write
myself
down
a
liar
.
If
these
people
choose
to
fall
out
because
of
a
word
of
mine
,
I
see
no
reason
to
apologise
.
It
is
their
concern
,
not
mine
.
”
“
Was
it
your
concern
to
write
to
Collett
,
then
?
Was
it
your
concern
to
take
such
a
responsibility
?
”
“
Every
one
may
write
whatever
passes
through
his
head
.
I
thought
Miss
Leigh
a
flirt
last
week
;
I
don’t
now
.
As
to
responsibilities
,
I
repudiate
such
things
.
”
“
No
one
can
repudiate
such
things
,
”
cried
Anne
.
“
You
have
done
mischief
,
and
with
a
few
strokes
of
the
pen
you
can
repair
it
.
Oh
,
you
must
write
,
Mr
Hamlin
—
you
must
.
”
“
If
I
write
,
”
answered
Hamlin
,
hotly
,
“
I
shall
just
tell
Collett
that
I
do
think
Miss
Leigh
a
flirt
.
I
cannot
refuse
to
write
,
but
I
refuse
to
eat
my
words
.
Have
you
paper
and
a
pen
?
”
He
had
gone
to
Anne’s
writing‐table
.
Anne
put
her
arm
over
it
.
“
You
have
told
a
falsehood
once
,
you
shall
not
tell
it
twice
,
”
she
said
.
“
I
said
that
merely
to
show
you
how
impossible
your
request
was
.
After
all
,
my
dear
Miss
Brown
,
a
man
does
owe
something
to
himself
and
to
his
name
,
and
there
is
such
a
thing
as
proper
pride
.
”
“
Is
there
?
”
answered
Anne
,
and
the
words
were
like
drops
of
freezing
water
.
“
I
thought
,
”
she
added
,
the
remembrance
of
what
he
had
answered
when
she
had
entreated
him
not
to
slander
himself
in
those
sonnets
“
Desire
,
”
“
that
your
school
considered
it
legitimate
for
a
man
to
say
that
he
had
committed
no
matter
what
baseness
,
even
those
which
he
had
not
.
But
I
see
,
”
and
Anne’s
indignation
blazed
up
,
“
that
you
want
sometimes
to
be
considered
wicked
,
but
that
you
succeed
only
in
being
mean
.
”
“
I
think
that
is
a
little
hard
upon
me
,
”
he
answered
mournfully
and
bitterly
,
and
left
the
room
.
He
was
thinking
of
all
he
had
done
for
Anne
—
all
that
he
had
done
and
left
undone
.
Anne
remained
seated
,
looking
into
the
fire
,
for
some
moments
.
Then
she
went
to
her
desk
and
took
paper
and
an
envelope
.
“
DEAR
MR
COLLETT
,
”
she
wrote
slowly
,
“
Mary
Leigh
has
just
shown
me
your
letter
to
Marjory
,
which
has
greatly
shocked
and
grieved
me
.
As
I
know
that
the
person
who
misled
you
about
Marjory
and
Mr
O’Reilly
,
between
whom
there
has
never
been
a
shadow
of
a
flirtation
,
is
Mr
Hamlin
,
I
feel
bound
to
tell
you
,
not
only
that
to
my
knowledge
Marjory
has
not
seen
Mr
O’Reilly
except
once
since
your
departure
;
but
also
,
as
having
been
present
on
the
occasion
of
the
supposed
flirtation
,
that
Mr
Hamlin
imagined
the
flirtation
,
and
wrote
to
you
about
it
merely
because
he
was
in
an
ill
temper
,
and
because
Marjory
had
annoyed
him
that
evening
by
detecting
a
fraud
in
the
spiritualistic
séance
in
which
we
were
engaged
.
Mr
Hamlin
has
himself
just
told
me
that
he
does
not
any
longer
believe
in
the
flirtation
,
and
had
no
notion
of
creating
any
mischief
.
So
,
as
he
is
not
writing
to
you
himself
,
I
feel
bound
to
tell
you
the
real
state
of
affairs
,
and
I
trust
you
will
immediately
let
Marjory
know
that
your
suspicions
were
groundless
,
as
she
is
very
unhappy
,
and
indignant
with
your
letter
.
—
Believe
me
,
dear
Mr
Collett
,
yours
sincerely
,
ANNE
BROWN
.
”
Anne
stopped
several
times
in
course
of
writing
,
and
read
and
re‐read
her
letter
.
Hamlin
had
refused
to
make
amends
;
well
,
she
must
make
them
for
him
:
the
matter
was
simple
,
and
it
was
Anne’s
character
,
whenever
she
saw
the
right
course
,
to
take
it
without
hesitation
,
however
painful
to
her
.
Like
many
very
honest
and
firm
people
,
she
had
something
destructive
in
her
temper
;
she
could
,
as
Sacha
Elaguine
had
said
,
sacrifice
herself
and
others
with
a
sort
of
sullen
savage
satisfaction
.
It
was
a
humiliation
for
Hamlin
,
but
he
had
deserved
it
;
it
was
a
bitter
humiliation
for
herself
,
but
her
debt
of
gratitude
towards
Hamlin
forced
her
to
take
the
consequences
of
the
bad
that
was
in
him
as
well
as
the
good
.
To
admit
that
Hamlin
had
,
from
mere
womanish
ill‐temper
,
calumniated
a
friend
,
wantonly
and
thoughtlessly
made
two
loving
natures
mistrust
each
other
,
and
that
he
had
then
refused
to
repair
the
mischief
of
his
own
making
,
—
this
was
intolerably
bitter
to
Anne
;
still
it
had
to
be
done
.
She
put
the
letter
on
the
hall
table
,
and
bade
the
servant
post
it
without
delay
.
Then
she
felt
the
full
ignominy
of
the
matter
;
and
her
whole
nature
recoiled
from
Hamlin’s
.
Nay
,
it
did
not
recoil
;
there
was
no
reality
to
shrink
from
.
Anne
no
longer
felt
horror
as
she
had
done
when
he
had
given
her
that
poem
about
Cold
Fremley
;
she
rccognised
that
his
fault
was
negative
,
that
his
moral
evil
was
moral
nullity
—
the
utter
incapacity
in
this
man
,
who
had
acted
so
chivalrously
towards
her
,
of
perceiving
when
he
was
doing
a
mean
thing
.
And
the
thought
that
she
would
be
chained
for
ever
to
the
side
of
a
man
whose
whole
nature
was
merely
æsthetic
,
who
was
wholly
without
moral
nerves
or
moral
muscles
,
filled
her
with
despair
.
The
next
day
,
Hamlin
sent
word
that
he
had
to
go
and
see
some
pictures
at
Oxford
,
and
would
be
away
for
two
days
.
Anne
felt
a
vague
hope
that
he
was
ashamed
of
himself
.
Madame
Elaguine
called
,
and
with
her
came
Cosmo
Chough
.
The
conversation
,
to
Miss
Brown’s
annoyance
,
turned
upon
the
spiritualistic
séance
of
the
previous
week
.
“
What
a
fool
Walter
is
!
”
exclaimed
Sacha
.
“
Fancy
his
moping
in
a
corner
because
the
spirits
crowned
him
with
paper
laurels
!
I
can’t
understand
a
man
not
having
more
brass
,
not
putting
a
better
face
on
things
.
But
Walter
is
a
curious
creature
:
in
many
respects
he
is
not
a
man
but
a
child
.
He
has
seen
a
great
deal
of
life
,
and
yet
in
many
things
he
is
like
a
girl
of
fifteen
.
”
“
Mr
Hamlin
,
”
said
Anne
,
evasively
,
“
has
an
essentially
artistic
nature
;
the
realities
of
the
world
don’t
appeal
much
to
him
.
”
“
Unless
an
artist
feel
the
realities
of
the
world
,
”
said
Madame
Elaguine
,
eating
some
of
the
petals
of
the
roses
that
were
at
her
elbow
,
“
his
art
will
be
very
thin
.
Life
must
stain
the
artist
with
its
colours
,
or
his
art
will
be
tintless
.
”
Anne
had
often
said
those
same
words
to
herself
;
yet
somehow
she
knew
that
in
Sacha
Elaguine’s
mouth
they
had
a
different
meaning
;
and
she
felt
it
,
when
,
with
her
curious
,
half‐childlike
,
and
yet
infinitely
conscious
smile
,
she
turned
to
Chough
.
“
Don’t
you
think
so
,
Signor
Cosmo
?
”
Cosmo
Chough
pretended
that
he
understood
,
as
he
always
did
,
whenever
he
thought
that
passion
and
the
Eternal
Feminine
were
in
question
;
he
tightened
his
black
moustachioed
lips
into
a
long
grimace
,
and
bowed
in
deferential
agreement
.
“
Of
course
,
”
said
the
little
man
,
sticking
his
single
eye‐glass
in
his
eye
,
“
we
all
know
that
our
friend
Hamlin
will
never
get
out
of
life
all
that
perfume
,
that
narcotic
and
bitter‐sweet
fiavour
,
which
some
other
men
taste
,
to
be
poisoned
for
ever
,
with
their
first
mouthful
of
honey
.
Hamlin
is
,
in
some
respects
,
a
little
more
and
a
little
less
than
a
man
.
”
“
A
goose
,
in
short
,
”
laughed
Sacha
.
“
He
is
,
purely
and
simply
,
an
artist
.
Passions
,
senses
,
all
the
things
which
belong
to
other
men’s
personality
,
belong
to
him
only
as
factors
of
his
art
.
And
this
is
perhaps
not
to
be
regretted
,
but
to
be
rejoiced
in
.
There
is
terrible
danger
of
the
artist
being
swallowed
up
by
the
man
.
Of
the
poets
whom
God
sends
on
earth
,
two‐thirds
are
lost
to
mankind
:
their
passions
,
which
should
be
merely
so
many
means
of
communication
between
their
soul
and
the
universe
,
eat
them
up
;
or
rather
they
feed
themselves
on
what
should
become
the
world’s
honey
.
And
even
of
those
who
are
not
lost
entirely
,
how
many
are
there
not
whose
lives
are
engulfed
by
passions
;
to
whom
,
alas
!
what
they
sing
is
but
the
wretched
shadow
of
what
they
feel
!
”
And
Chough
sighed
,
and
fixed
his
eyes
on
his
lacquered
boot‐tips
,
as
much
as
to
intimate
that
he
,
who
lived
on
mutton‐chops
and
spent
his
life
nursing
an
epileptic
wife
,
was
of
that
Caliph
Vathek
kind
.
Madame
Elaguine
laughed
;
but
Chough
thought
it
was
at
Hamlin
,
and
frowned
.
“
Herein
lies
Hamlin’s
advantage
;
he
is
the
pure
artist
.
And
,
mark
me
,
”
he
said
,
looking
fiercely
around
him
,
“
he
is
none
the
worse
for
that
.
No
,
rather
the
better
.
I
know
no
man
to
compare
with
Hamlin
as
a
mere
person
;
to
compare
with
him
not
merely
in
genius
,
but
in
kindliness
of
temper
,
in
purity
of
soul
,
in
delicacy
of
thoughts
.
He
is
not
merely
a
great
artist
,
but
a
work
of
art
;
he
is
like
a
picture
of
Sir
Galahad
vivified
,
or
like
a
sonnet
of
Dante
turned
into
flesh
—
and
I
think
Miss
Brown
will
agree
with
me
.
”
“
Mr
Hamlin
,
”
said
Anne
,
slowly
,
“
is
a
very
generous
man
and
a
very
chivalric
man
,
and
,
”
she
added
,
feeling
as
if
Madame
Elaguine
were
looking
into
her
soul
,
and
as
if
she
must
read
ingratitude
written
in
it
,
“
I
feel
that
I
am
indebted
to
him
not
merely
for
all
he
has
done
for
me
,
but
for
the
way
in
which
he
has
done
it
—
”
“
Oh
no
,
no
!
”
exclaimed
the
polite
little
poet
,
to
whom
Anne
was
quite
the
goddess
,
“
don’t
say
that
,
Miss
Brown
;
you
can
never
owe
anything
to
any
one
.
Whatever
a
man
can
do
,
is
a
tribute
which
his
nature
forces
him
to
lay
down
at
your
shrine
.
”
“
Yes
,
”
mused
Madame
Elaguine
,
following
out
the
pattern
of
the
carpet
with
her
parasol
“
indebted
—
that
is
how
one
must
feel
towards
Walter
—
indebted
for
the
pleasure
,
etc.
,
etc.
,
of
so
charming
an
acquaintance
;
but
love
—
one
can’t
love
where
there
is
only
artistic
instinct
to
meet
one
—
”
“
I
know
nothing
about
such
matters
,
”
said
Anne
,
quietly
.
“
But
,
perhaps
—
Hamlin
may
be
a
sort
of
child
of
genius
,
and
the
man
,
the
man
who
feels
may
come
later
,
”
finished
the
Russian
.
“
When
people
don’t
feel
,
they
don’t
feel
,
”
said
Anne
,
sternly
;
“
I
mean
—
morally
.
”
“
By
the
way
,
”
exclaimed
Chough
,
“
I
am
reading
such
a
delightful
book
—
have
you
ever
read
it
,
Madame
Elaguine
?
—
The
Letters
of
Mademoiselle
Aïssé
—
”
“
Who
was
Mademoiselle
Aïssé
?
”
asked
Anne
absently
,
forgetting
that
experience
had
taught
her
that
it
was
safer
not
to
inquire
too
curiously
into
Mr
Chough’s
heroines
.
“
I
suppose
she
was
some
improper
lady
or
other
—
all
your
poetic
ladies
were
,
weren’t
they
?
”
asked
Madame
Elaguine
.
“
Something
like
your
Belle
Heaulmière
,
whom
you
insisted
on
talking
about
at
poor
Lady
Brady’s
party
,
although
I
kept
making
signs
to
you
the
whole
time
.
”
“
Improper
?
”
exclaimed
Chough
.
“
Mademoiselle
Aïssé
was
the
soul
of
virtue
—
the
purest
woman
—
of
the
eighteenth
century
.
”
“
Tell
us
about
this
purest
woman
of
—
the
eighteenth
century
,
”
laughed
Sacha
.
“
She
was
the
daughter
of
kings
;
her
name
was
originally
Ayesha
,
like
the
wife
of
the
Prophet
—
but
she
became
a
slave
,
and
was
sold
as
a
child
to
M
.
de
Ferréol
—
I
think
that
was
his
name
—
who
was
ambassador
at
Constantinople
.
M
.
de
Ferréol
sent
her
to
his
sister‐in‐law
in
Paris
to
educate
.
Aïssé
grew
up
the
most
refined
and
accomplished
woman
,
—
you
should
read
her
letters
—
perfect
gems
!
—
and
marvellously
beautiful
.
Life
was
just
opening
to
her
,
and
love
also
,
when
M
.
de
Ferréol
returned
from
Constantinople
,
and
said
to
this
exquisite
,
proud
,
and
pure‐minded
creature
:
‘You
are
my
slave
;
I
bought
you
,
I
educated
you
;
now
love
me.’
”
Chough
paused
and
looked
round
him
to
watch
the
effect
of
his
eloquence
.
But
his
eyes
fell
upon
Anne
.
She
was
very
white
.
“
Well
—
and
what
did
Aïssé
answer
?
”
asked
Madame
Elaguine
.
“
Aïssé
answered
—
let
me
see
,
what
did
Aïssé
answer
?
—
oh
,
I
should
spoil
your
pleasure
were
I
to
tell
it
you
.
I
will
bring
you
the
book
,
dear
Madame
Elaguine
,
and
you
shall
tell
me
what
you
think
of
it
.
”
Anne
felt
that
she
had
betrayed
herself
.
To
Sacha
,
she
hoped
,
she
believed
not
—
but
to
Chough
.
The
little
poet
,
in
his
trumpery
way
,
was
really
attached
to
Anne
,
whom
he
considered
as
his
guardian
angel
;
and
perhaps
his
affection
had
made
him
understand
.
“
What
became
of
Mademoiselle
Aïssé
?
”
asked
Anne
,
some
time
later
,
as
she
stood
by
the
piano
where
Chough
was
playing
.
Chough
looked
up
.
“
Oh
—
why
—
she
—
in
short
—
afterwards
—
she
died
.
”
“
Would
you
like
to
see
the
book
?
”
asked
Madame
Elaguine
;
“
I
have
some
others
on
hand
at
present
.
Mr
Chough
shall
send
it
to
you
—
”
“
Oh
no
,
thank
you
,
”
answered
Anne
,
“
I
have
a
heap
of
books
to
get
through
;
and
—
I
don’t
care
what
happened
to
Mademoiselle
Aïssé
.
”
“
You
are
very
hard‐hearted
,
Anne
.
”
“
She
would
not
have
objected
to
M
.
de
Ferréol
if
she
had
remained
a
mere
little
Turkish
slave‐girl
;
she
would
have
thought
him
a
sort
of
God
.
She
had
no
business
to
let
her
education
make
her
squeamish
.
”
“
A
nasty
old
ambassador
!
”
said
Madame
Elaguine
.
“
I
think
it
was
awfully
hard
upon
her
,
poor
thing
!
And
was
she
in
love
with
some
one
else
,
Mr
Chough
?
”
CHAPTER
IV
.
WHEN
Chough
first
told
