theothers
,
Mr.
Magnet
.
I
'm
sorry
if
I
'm
disappointing
.
"
And
by
a
great
effort
she
turned
about
.
Mr.
Magnet
remained
regarding
her
—
I
can
only
compare
it
to
the
searching
preliminary
gaze
of
an
artistic
photographer
.
For
a
crucial
minute
in
his
life
Marjorie
hated
him
.
"
I
do
n't
understand
,
"
he
said
at
last
.
Then
with
a
sort
of
naturalness
that
ought
to
have
touched
her
he
said
:
"
Is
it
possible
,
Marjorie
—
that
I
might
hope
?
—
that
I
have
been
inopportune
?
"
She
answered
at
once
with
absolute
conviction
.
"
I
do
n't
think
so
,
Mr.
Magnet
.
"
"
I
'm
sorry
,
"
he
said
,
"
to
have
bothered
you
.
"
"
I
'm
sorry
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
A
long
silence
followed
.
"
I
'm
sorry
too
,
"
he
said
.
They
said
no
more
,
but
began
to
retrace
their
steps
.
It
was
over
.
Abruptly
,
Mr.
Magnet
's
bearing
had
become
despondent
—
conspicuously
despondent
.
"
I
had
hoped
,
"
he
said
,
and
sighed
.
With
a
thrill
of
horror
Marjorie
perceived
he
meant
to
look
rejected
,
let
every
one
see
he
had
been
rejected
—
after
encouragement
.
What
would
they
think
?
How
would
they
look
?
What
conceivably
might
they
not
say
?
Something
of
the
importance
of
the
thing
she
had
done
,
became
manifest
to
her
.
She
felt
first
intimations
of
regret
.
They
would
all
be
watching
,
Mother
,
Daffy
,
Lady
Petchworth
.
She
would
reappear
with
this
victim
visibly
suffering
beside
her
.
What
could
she
say
to
straighten
his
back
and
lift
his
chin
?
She
could
think
of
nothing
.
Ahead
at
the
end
of
the
shaded
path
she
could
see
the
copious
white
form
,
the
agitated
fair
wig
and
red
sunshade
of
Lady
Petchworth
—
—
Mrs.
Pope
's
eye
was
relentless
;
nothing
seemed
hidden
from
it
;
nothing
indeed
was
hidden
from
it
;
Mr.
Magnet
's
back
was
diagrammatic
.
Marjorie
was
a
little
flushed
and
bright-eyed
,
and
professed
herself
eager
,
with
an
unnatural
enthusiasm
,
to
play
golf-croquet
.
It
was
eloquently
significant
that
Mr.
Magnet
did
not
share
her
eagerness
,
declined
to
play
,
and
yet
when
she
had
started
with
the
Rev.
Jopling
Baynes
as
partner
,
stood
regarding
the
game
with
a
sort
of
tender
melancholy
from
the
shade
of
the
big
chestnut-tree
.
Mrs.
Pope
joined
him
unobtrusively
.
"
You
're
not
playing
,
Mr.
Magnet
,
"
she
remarked
.
"
I
'm
a
looker-on
,
this
time
,
"
he
said
with
a
sigh
.
"
Marjorie
's
winning
,
I
think
,
"
said
Mrs.
Pope
.
He
made
no
answer
for
some
seconds
.
"
She
looks
so
charming
in
that
blue
dress
,
"
he
remarked
at
last
,
and
sighed
from
the
lowest
deeps
.
"
That
bird's-egg
blue
suits
her
,
"
said
Mrs.
Pope
,
ignoring
the
sigh
.
"
She
's
clever
in
her
girlish
way
,
she
chooses
all
her
own
dresses
,
—
colours
,
material
,
everything
.
"
(
And
also
,
though
Mrs.
Pope
had
not
remarked
it
,
she
concealed
her
bills
.
)
There
came
a
still
longer
interval
,
which
Mrs.
Pope
ended
with
the
slightest
of
shivers
.
She
perceived
Mr.
Magnet
was
heavy
for
sympathy
and
ripe
to
confide
.
"
I
think
,
"
she
said
,
"
it
's
a
little
cool
here
.
Shall
we
walk
to
the
Water
Garden
,
and
see
if
there
are
any
white
lilies
?
"
"
There
are
,
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
sorrowfully
,
"
and
they
are
very
beautiful
—
quite
beautiful
.
"
He
turned
to
the
path
along
which
he
had
so
recently
led
Marjorie
.
He
glanced
back
as
they
went
along
between
Lady
Petchworth
's
herbaceous
border
and
the
poppy
beds
.
"
She
's
so
full
of
life
,
"
he
said
,
with
a
sigh
in
his
voice
.
Mrs.
Pope
knew
she
must
keep
silent
.
"
I
asked
her
to
marry
me
this
afternoon
,
"
Mr.
Magnet
blurted
out
.
"
I
could
n't
help
it
.
"
Mrs.
Pope
made
her
silence
very
impressive
.
"
I
know
I
ought
not
to
have
done
so
without
consulting
you
"
—
he
went
on
lamely
;
"
I
'm
very
much
in
love
with
her
.
It
's
—
—
It
's
done
no
harm
.
"
Mrs.
Pope
's
voice
was
soft
and
low
.
"
I
had
no
idea
,
Mr.
Magnet
...
.
You
know
she
is
very
young
.
Twenty
.
A
mother
—
—
"
"
I
know
,
"
said
Magnet
.
"
I
can
quite
understand
.
But
I
've
done
no
harm
.
She
refused
me
.
I
shall
go
away
to-morrow
.
Go
right
away
for
ever
...
.
I
'm
sorry
.
"
Another
long
silence
.
"
To
me
,
of
course
,
she
's
just
a
child
,
"
Mrs.
Pope
said
at
last
.
"
She
is
only
a
child
,
Mr.
Magnet
.
She
could
have
had
no
idea
that
anything
of
the
sort
was
in
your
mind
—
—
"
Her
words
floated
away
into
the
stillness
.
For
a
time
they
said
no
more
.
The
lilies
came
into
sight
,
dreaming
under
a
rich
green
shade
on
a
limpid
pool
of
brown
water
,
water
that
slept
and
brimmed
over
as
it
were
,
unconsciously
into
a
cool
splash
and
ripple
of
escape
.
"
How
beautiful
!
"
cried
Mrs.
Pope
,
for
a
moment
genuine
.
"
I
spoke
to
her
here
,
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
.
The
fountains
of
his
confidence
were
unloosed
.
"
Now
I
've
spoken
to
you
about
it
,
Mrs.
Pope
,
"
he
said
,
"
I
can
tell
you
just
how
I
—
oh
,
it
's
the
only
word
—
adore
her
.
She
seems
so
sweet
and
easy
—
so
graceful
—
—
"
Mrs.
Pope
turned
on
him
abruptly
,
and
grasped
his
hands
;
she
was
deeply
moved
.
"
I
ca
n't
tell
you
,
"
she
said
,
"
what
it
means
to
a
mother
to
hear
such
things
—
—
"
Words
failed
her
,
and
for
some
moments
they
engaged
in
a
mutual
pressure
.
"
Ah
!
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
,
and
had
a
queer
wish
it
was
the
mother
he
had
to
deal
with
.
"
Are
you
sure
,
Mr.
Magnet
,
"
Mrs.
Pope
went
on
as
their
emotions
subsided
,
"
that
she
really
meant
what
she
said
?
Girls
are
very
strange
creatures
—
—
"
"
She
seems
so
clear
and
positive
.
"
"
Her
manner
is
always
clear
and
positive
.
"
"
Yes
.
I
know
.
"
"
I
know
she
has
cared
for
you
.
"
"
No
!
"
"
A
mother
sees
.
When
your
name
used
to
be
mentioned
—
—
.
But
these
are
not
things
to
talk
about
.
There
is
something
—
something
sacred
—
—
"
"
Yes
,
"
he
said
.
"
Yes
.
Only
—
—
Of
course
,
one
thing
—
—
"
Mrs.
Pope
seemed
lost
in
the
contemplation
of
water-lilies
.
"
I
wondered
,
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
,
and
paused
again
.
Then
,
almost
breathlessly
,
"
I
wondered
if
there
should
be
perhaps
—
some
one
else
?
"
She
shook
her
head
slowly
.
"
I
should
know
,
"
she
said
.
"
Are
you
sure
?
"
"
I
know
I
should
know
.
"
"
Perhaps
recently
?
"
"
I
am
sure
I
should
know
.
A
mother
's
intuition
—
—
"
Memories
possessed
her
for
awhile
.
"
A
girl
of
twenty
is
a
mass
of
contradictions
.
I
can
remember
myself
as
if
it
was
yesterday
.
Often
one
says
no
,
or
yes
—
out
of
sheer
nervousness
...
.
I
am
sure
there
is
no
other
attachment
—
—
"
It
occurred
to
her
that
she
had
said
enough
.
"
What
a
dignity
that
old
gold-fish
has
!
"
she
remarked
.
"
He
waves
his
tail
—
as
if
he
were
a
beadle
waving
little
boys
out
of
church
.
"
Mrs.
Pope
astonished
Marjorie
by
saying
nothing
about
the
all
too
obvious
event
of
the
day
for
some
time
,
but
her
manner
to
her
second
daughter
on
their
way
home
was
strangely
gentle
.
It
was
as
if
she
had
realized
for
the
first
time
that
regret
and
unhappiness
might
come
into
that
young
life
.
After
supper
,
however
,
she
spoke
.
They
had
all
gone
out
just
before
the
children
went
to
bed
to
look
for
the
new
moon
;
Daffy
was
showing
the
pseudo-twins
the
old
moon
in
the
new
moon
's
arms
,
and
Marjorie
found
herself
standing
by
her
mother
's
side
.
"
I
hope
dear
,
"
said
Mrs.
Pope
,
"
that
it
's
all
for
the
best
—
and
that
you
've
done
wisely
,
dear
.
"
Marjorie
was
astonished
and
moved
by
her
mother
's
tone
.
"
It
's
so
difficult
to
know
what
is
for
the
best
,
"
Mrs.
Pope
went
on
.
"
I
had
to
do
—
as
I
did
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
I
only
hope
you
may
never
find
you
have
made
a
Great
Mistake
,
dear
.
He
cares
for
you
very
,
very
much
.
"
"
Oh
!
we
see
it
now
!
"
cried
Rom
,
"
we
see
it
now
!
Mummy
,
have
you
seen
it
?
Like
a
little
old
round
ghost
being
nursed
!
"
When
Marjorie
said
"
Good-night
,
"
Mrs.
Pope
kissed
her
with
an
unaccustomed
effusion
.
It
occurred
to
Marjorie
that
after
all
her
mother
had
no
selfish
end
to
serve
in
this
affair
.
The
idea
that
perhaps
after
all
she
had
made
a
Great
Mistake
,
the
Mistake
of
her
Life
it
might
be
,
was
quite
firmly
established
in
its
place
among
all
the
other
ideas
in
Marjorie
's
mind
by
the
time
she
had
dressed
next
morning
.
Subsequent
events
greatly
intensified
this
persuasion
.
A
pair
of
new
stockings
she
had
trusted
sprang
a
bad
hole
as
she
put
them
on
.
She
found
two
unmistakable
bills
from
Oxbridge
beside
her
plate
,
and
her
father
was
"
horrid
"
at
breakfast
.
Her
father
,
it
appeared
,
had
bought
the
ordinary
shares
of
a
Cuban
railway
very
extensively
,
on
the
distinct
understanding
that
they
would
improve
.
In
a
decent
universe
,
with
a
proper
respect
for
meritorious
gentlemen
,
these
shares
would
have
improved
accordingly
,
but
the
weather
had
seen
fit
to
shatter
the
wisdom
of
Mr.
Pope
altogether
.
The
sugar
crop
had
collapsed
,
the
bears
were
at
work
,
and
every
morning
now
saw
his
nominal
capital
diminished
by
a
dozen
pounds
or
so
.
I
do
not
know
what
Mr.
Pope
would
have
done
if
he
had
not
had
his
family
to
help
him
bear
his
trouble
.
As
it
was
he
relieved
his
tension
by
sending
Theodore
from
the
table
for
dropping
a
knife
,
telling
Rom
when
she
turned
the
plate
round
to
pick
the
largest
banana
that
she
had
n't
the
self-respect
of
a
child
of
five
,
and
remarking
sharply
from
behind
the
Times
when
Daffy
asked
Marjorie
if
she
was
going
to
sketch
:
"
Oh
,
for
God
's
sake
do
n't
whisper
!
"
Then
when
Mrs.
Pope
came
round
the
table
and
tried
to
take
his
coffee
cup
softly
to
refill
it
without
troubling
him
,
he
snatched
at
it
,
wrenched
it
roughly
out
of
her
hand
,
and
said
with
his
mouth
full
,
and
strangely
in
the
manner
of
a
snarling
beast
:
"
No
'
ready
yet
.
Half
foo
'
.
"
Marjorie
wanted
to
know
why
every
one
did
n't
get
up
and
leave
the
room
.
She
glanced
at
her
mother
and
came
near
to
speaking
.
And
very
soon
she
would
have
to
come
home
and
live
in
the
midst
of
this
again
—
indefinitely
!
After
breakfast
she
went
to
the
tumbledown
summer-house
by
the
duckpond
,
and
contemplated
the
bills
she
had
not
dared
to
open
at
table
.
One
was
boots
,
nearly
three
pounds
,
the
other
books
,
over
seven
.
"
I
know
that
's
wrong
,
"
said
Marjorie
,
and
rested
her
chin
on
her
hand
,
knitted
her
brows
and
tried
to
remember
the
details
of
orders
and
deliveries
...
.
Marjorie
had
fallen
into
the
net
prepared
for
our
sons
and
daughters
by
the
delicate
modesty
of
the
Oxbridge
authorities
in
money
matters
,
and
she
was
,
for
her
circumstances
,
rather
heavily
in
debt
.
But
I
must
admit
that
in
Marjorie
's
nature
the
Oxbridge
conditions
had
found
an
eager
and
adventurous
streak
that
rendered
her
particularly
apt
to
these
temptations
.
I
doubt
if
reticence
is
really
a
virtue
in
a
teacher
.
But
this
is
a
fearful
world
,
and
the
majority
of
those
who
instruct
our
youth
have
the
painful
sensitiveness
of
the
cloistered
soul
to
this
spirit
of
terror
in
things
.
The
young
need
particularly
to
be
told
truthfully
and
fully
all
we
know
of
three
fundamental
things
:
the
first
of
which
is
God
,
the
next
their
duty
towards
their
neighbours
in
the
matter
of
work
and
money
,
and
the
third
Sex
.
These
things
,
and
the
adequate
why
of
them
,
and
some
sort
of
adequate
how
,
make
all
that
matters
in
education
.
But
all
three
are
obscure
and
deeply
moving
topics
,
topics
for
which
the
donnish
mind
has
a
kind
of
special
ineptitude
,
and
which
it
evades
with
the
utmost
skill
and
delicacy
.
The
middle
part
of
this
evaded
triad
was
now
being
taken
up
in
Marjorie
's
case
by
the
Oxbridge
tradespeople
.
The
Oxbridge
shopkeeper
is
peculiar
among
shopkeepers
in
the
fact
that
he
has
to
do
very
largely
with
shy
and
immature
customers
with
an
extreme
and
distinctive
ignorance
of
most
commercial
things
.
They
are
for
the
most
part
short
of
cash
,
but
with
vague
and
often
large
probabilities
of
credit
behind
them
,
for
most
people
,
even
quite
straitened
people
,
will
pull
their
sons
and
daughters
out
of
altogether
unreasonable
debts
at
the
end
of
their
university
career
;
and
so
the
Oxbridge
shopkeeper
becomes
a
sort
of
propagandist
of
the
charms
and
advantages
of
insolvency
.
Alone
among
retailers
he
dislikes
the
sight
of
cash
,
declines
it
,
affects
to
regard
it
as
a
coarse
ignorant
truncation
of
a
budding
relationship
,
begs
to
be
permitted
to
wait
.
So
the
youngster
just
up
from
home
discovers
that
money
may
stay
in
the
pocket
,
be
used
for
cab
and
train
fares
and
light
refreshments
;
all
the
rest
may
be
had
for
the
asking
.
Marjorie
,
with
her
innate
hunger
for
good
fine
things
,
with
her
quite
insufficient
pocket-money
,
and
the
irregular
habits
of
expenditure
a
spasmodically
financed
,
hard-up
home
is
apt
to
engender
,
fell
very
readily
into
this
new
,
delightful
custom
of
having
it
put
down
(
whatever
it
happened
to
be
)
.
She
had
all
sorts
of
things
put
down
.
She
and
the
elder
Carmel
girl
used
to
go
shopping
together
,
having
things
put
down
.
She
brightened
her
rooms
with
colour-prints
and
engravings
,
got
herself
pretty
and
becoming
clothes
,
acquired
a
fitted
dressing-bag
already
noted
in
this
story
,
and
one
or
two
other
trifles
of
the
sort
,
revised
her
foot-wear
,
created
a
very
nice
little
bookshelf
,
and
although
at
times
she
felt
a
little
astonished
and
scared
at
herself
,
resolutely
refused
to
estimate
the
total
of
accumulated
debt
she
had
attained
.
Indeed
until
the
bills
came
in
it
was
impossible
to
do
that
,
because
,
following
the
splendid
example
of
the
Carmel
girl
,
she
had
n't
even
inquired
the
price
of
quite
a
number
of
things
...
.
She
did
n't
dare
think
now
of
the
total
.
She
lied
even
to
herself
about
that
.
She
had
fixed
on
fifty
pounds
as
the
unendurable
maximum
.
"
It
is
less
than
fifty
pounds
,
"
she
said
,
and
added
:
"
must
be
.
"
But
something
in
her
below
the
threshold
of
consciousness
knew
that
it
was
more
.
And
now
she
was
in
her
third
year
,
and
the
Oxbridge
tradesman
,
generally
satisfied
with
the
dimensions
of
her
account
,
and
no
longer
anxious
to
see
it
grow
,
was
displaying
the
less
obsequious
side
of
his
character
.
He
wrote
remarks
at
the
bottom
of
his
account
,
remarks
about
settlement
,
about
having
a
bill
to
meet
,
about
having
something
to
go
on
with
.
He
asked
her
to
give
the
matter
her
"
early
attention
.
"
She
had
a
disagreeable
persuasion
that
if
she
wanted
many
more
things
anywhere
she
would
have
to
pay
ready
money
for
them
.
She
was
particularly
short
of
stockings
.
She
had
overlooked
stockings
recently
.
Daffy
,
unfortunately
,
was
also
short
of
stockings
.
And
now
,
back
with
her
family
again
,
everything
conspired
to
remind
Marjorie
of
the
old
stringent
habits
from
which
she
had
had
so
delightful
an
interlude
.
She
saw
Daffy
eye
her
possessions
,
reflect
.
This
morning
something
of
the
awfulness
of
her
position
came
to
her
...
.
At
Oxbridge
she
had
made
rather
a
joke
of
her
debts
.
"
I
'd
swear
I
have
n't
had
three
pairs
of
house
shoes
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
But
what
can
one
do
?
"
And
about
the
whole
position
the
question
was
,
"
what
can
one
do
?
"
She
proceeded
with
tense
nervous
movements
to
tear
these
two
distasteful
demands
into
very
minute
pieces
.
Then
she
collected
them
all
together
in
the
hollow
of
her
hand
,
and
buried
them
in
the
loose
mould
in
a
corner
of
the
summer-house
.
"
Madge
,
"
said
Theodore
,
appearing
in
the
sunshine
of
the
doorway
.
"
Aunt
Plessington
's
coming
!
She
's
sent
a
wire
.
Someone
's
got
to
meet
her
by
the
twelve-forty
train
.
"
Aunt
Plessington
's
descent
was
due
to
her
sudden
discovery
that
Buryhamstreet
was
in
close
proximity
to
Summerhay
Park
,
indeed
only
three
miles
away
.
She
had
promised
a
lecture
on
her
movement
for
Lady
Petchworth
's
village
room
in
Summerhay
,
and
she
found
that
with
a
slight
readjustment
of
dates
she
could
combine
this
engagement
with
her
promised
visit
to
her
husband
's
sister
,
and
an
evening
or
so
of
influence
for
her
little
Madge
.
So
she
had
sent
Hubert
to
telegraph
at
once
,
and
"
here
,
"
she
said
triumphantly
on
the
platform
,
after
a
hard
kiss
at
Marjorie
's
cheek
,
"
we
are
again
.
"
There
,
at
any
rate
,
she
was
,
and
Uncle
Hubert
was
up
the
platform
seeing
after
the
luggage
,
in
his
small
anxious
way
.
Aunt
Plessington
was
a
tall
lean
woman
,
with
firm
features
,
a
high
colour
and
a
bright
eye
,
who
wore
hats
to
show
she
despised
them
,
and
carefully
dishevelled
hair
.
Her
dress
was
always
good
,
but
extremely
old
and
grubby
,
and
she
commanded
respect
chiefly
by
her
voice
.
Her
voice
was
the
true
governing-class
voice
,
a
strangulated
contralto
,
abundant
and
authoritative
;
it
made
everything
she
said
clear
and
important
,
so
that
if
she
said
it
was
a
fine
morning
it
was
like
leaded
print
in
the
Times
,
and
she
had
over
her
large
front
teeth
lips
that
closed
quietly
and
with
a
slight
effort
after
her
speeches
,
as
if
the
words
she
spoke
tasted
well
and
left
a
peaceful
,
secure
sensation
in
the
mouth
.
Uncle
Hubert
was
a
less
distinguished
figure
,
and
just
a
little
reminiscent
of
the
small
attached
husbands
one
finds
among
the
lower
crustacea
:
he
was
much
shorter
and
rounder
than
his
wife
,
and
if
he
had
been
left
to
himself
,
he
would
probably
have
been
comfortably
fat
in
his
quiet
little
way
.
But
Aunt
Plessington
had
made
him
a
Haigite
,
which
is
one
of
the
fiercer
kinds
of
hygienist
,
just
in
the
nick
of
time
.
He
had
round
shoulders
,
a
large
nose
,
and
glasses
that
made
him
look
astonished
—
and
she
said
he
had
a
great
gift
for
practical
things
,
and
made
him
see
after
everything
in
that
line
while
she
did
the
lecturing
.
His
directions
to
the
porter
finished
,
he
came
up
to
his
niece
.
"
Hello
,
Marjorie
!
"
he
said
,
in
a
peculiar
voice
that
sounded
as
though
his
mouth
was
full
(
though
of
course
,
poor
dear
,
it
was
n't
)
,
"
how
's
the
First
Class
?
"
"
A
second
's
good
enough
for
me
,
Uncle
Hubert
,
"
said
Marjorie
,
and
asked
if
they
would
rather
walk
or
go
in
the
donkey
cart
,
which
was
waiting
outside
with
Daffy
.
Aunt
Plessington
,
with
an
air
of
great
bonhomie
said
she
'd
ride
in
the
donkey
cart
,
and
they
did
.
But
no
pseudo-twins
or
Theodore
came
to
meet
this
arrival
,
as
both
uncle
and
aunt
had
a
way
of
asking
how
the
lessons
were
getting
on
that
they
found
extremely
disagreeable
.
Also
,
their
aunt
measured
them
,
and
incited
them
with
loud
encouraging
noises
to
grow
one
against
the
other
in
an
urgent
,
disturbing
fashion
.
Aunt
Plessington
's
being
was
consumed
by
thoughts
of
getting
on
.
She
was
like
Bernard
Shaw
's
life
force
,
and
she
really
did
not
seem
to
think
there
was
anything
in
existence
but
shoving
.
She
had
no
idea
what
a
lark
life
can
be
,
and
occasionally
how
beautiful
it
can
be
when
you
do
not
shove
,
if
only
,
which
becomes
increasingly
hard
each
year
,
you
can
get
away
from
the
shovers
.
She
was
one
of
an
energetic
family
of
eight
sisters
who
had
maintained
themselves
against
a
mutual
pressure
by
the
use
of
their
elbows
from
the
cradle
.
They
had
all
married
against
each
other
,
all
sorts
of
people
;
two
had
driven
their
husbands
into
bishoprics
and
made
quite
typical
bishop
's
wives
,
one
got
a
leading
barrister
,
one
a
high
war-office
official
,
and
one
a
rich
Jew
,
and
Aunt
Plessington
,
after
spending
some
years
in
just
missing
a
rich
and
only
slightly
demented
baronet
,
had
pounced
—
it
's
the
only
word
for
it
—
on
Uncle
Hubert
.
"
A
woman
is
nothing
without
a
husband
,
"
she
said
,
and
took
him
.
He
was
a
fairly
comfortable
Oxford
don
in
his
furtive
way
,
and
bringing
him
out
and
using
him
as
a
basis
,
she
specialized
in
intellectual
philanthropy
and
evolved
her
Movement
.
It
was
quite
remarkable
how
rapidly
she
overhauled
her
sisters
again
.
What
the
Movement
was
,
varied
considerably
from
time
to
time
,
but
it
was
always
aggressively
beneficial
towards
the
lower
strata
of
the
community
.
Among
its
central
ideas
was
her
belief
that
these
lower
strata
can
no
more
be
trusted
to
eat
than
they
can
to
drink
,
and
that
the
licensing
monopoly
which
has
made
the
poor
man
's
beer
thick
,
lukewarm
and
discreditable
,
and
so
greatly
minimized
its
consumption
,
should
be
extended
to
the
solid
side
of
his
dietary
.
She
wanted
to
place
considerable
restrictions
upon
the
sale
of
all
sorts
of
meat
,
upon
groceries
and
the
less
hygienic
and
more
palatable
forms
of
bread
(
which
do
not
sufficiently
stimulate
the
coatings
of
the
stomach
)
,
to
increase
the
present
difficulties
in
the
way
of
tobacco
purchasers
,
and
to
put
an
end
to
that
wanton
and
deleterious
consumption
of
sweets
which
has
so
bad
an
effect
upon
the
enamel
of
the
teeth
of
the
younger
generation
.
Closely
interwoven
with
these
proposals
was
an
adoption
of
the
principle
of
the
East
Purblow
Experiment
,
the
principle
of
Payment
in
Kind
.
She
was
quite
in
agreement
with
Mr.
Pope
that
poor
people
,
when
they
had
money
,
frittered
it
away
,
and
so
she
proposed
very
extensive
changes
in
the
Truck
Act
,
which
could
enable
employers
,
under
suitable
safeguards
,
and
with
the
advice
of
a
small
body
of
spinster
inspectors
,
to
supply
hygienic
housing
,
approved
clothing
of
moral
and
wholesome
sort
,
various
forms
of
insurance
,
edifying
rations
,
cuisine
,
medical
aid
and
educational
facilities
as
circumstances
seemed
to
justify
,
in
lieu
of
the
wages
the
employees
handled
so
ill
...
.
As
no
people
in
England
will
ever
admit
they
belong
to
the
lower
strata
of
society
,
Aunt
Plessington
's
Movement
attracted
adherents
from
every
class
in
the
community
.
She
now
,
as
they
drove
slowly
to
the
vicarage
,
recounted
to
Marjorie
—
she
had
the
utmost
contempt
for
Daffy
because
of
her
irregular
teeth
and
a
general
lack
of
progressive
activity
—
the
steady
growth
of
the
Movement
,
and
the
increasing
respect
shown
for
her
and
Hubert
in
the
world
of
politico-social
reform
.
Some
of
the
meetings
she
had
addressed
had
been
quite
full
,
various
people
had
made
various
remarks
about
her
,
hostile
for
the
most
part
and
yet
insidiously
flattering
,
and
everybody
seemed
quite
glad
to
come
to
the
little
dinners
she
gave
in
order
,
she
said
,
to
gather
social
support
for
her
reforms
.
She
had
been
staying
with
the
Mastersteins
,
who
were
keenly
interested
,
and
after
she
had
polished
off
Lady
Petchworth
she
was
to
visit
Lady
Rosenbaum
.
It
was
all
going
on
swimmingly
,
these
newer
English
gentry
were
eager
to
learn
all
she
had
to
teach
in
the
art
of
breaking
in
the
Anglo-Saxon
villagers
,
and
now
,
how
was
Marjorie
going
on
,
and
what
was
she
going
to
do
in
the
world
?
Marjorie
said
she
was
working
for
her
final
.
"
And
what
then
?
"
asked
Aunt
Plessington
.
"
Not
very
clear
,
Aunt
,
yet
.
"
"
Looking
around
for
something
to
take
up
?
"
"
Yes
,
Aunt
.
"
"
Well
,
you
've
time
yet
.
And
it
's
just
as
well
to
see
how
the
land
lies
before
you
begin
.
It
saves
going
back
.
You
'll
have
to
come
up
to
London
with
me
for
a
little
while
,
and
see
things
,
and
be
seen
a
little
.
"
"
I
should
love
to
.
"
"
I
'll
give
you
a
good
time
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
,
nodding
promisingly
.
"
Theodore
getting
on
in
school
?
"
"
He
's
had
his
remove
.
"
"
And
how
's
Sydney
getting
on
with
the
music
?
"
"
Excellently
.
"
"
And
Rom.
Rom
getting
on
?
"
Marjorie
indicated
a
more
restrained
success
.
"
And
what
's
Daffy
doing
?
"
"
Oh
!
get
on
!
"
said
Daffy
and
suddenly
whacked
the
donkey
rather
hard
.
"
I
beg
your
pardon
,
Aunt
?
"
"
I
asked
what
you
were
up
to
,
Daffy
?
"
"
Dusting
,
Aunt
—
and
the
virtues
,
"
said
Daffy
.
"
You
ought
to
find
something
better
than
that
.
"
"
Father
tells
me
a
lot
about
the
East
Purblow
Experiment
,
"
said
Daffy
after
a
perceptible
interval
.
"
Ah
!
"
cried
Aunt
Plessington
with
a
loud
encouraging
note
,
but
evidently
making
the
best
of
it
,
"
that
's
better
.
Sociological
observation
.
"
"
Yes
,
Aunt
,
"
said
Daffy
,
and
negotiated
a
corner
with
exceptional
care
.
Mrs.
Pope
,
who
had
an
instinctive
disposition
to
pad
when
Aunt
Plessington
was
about
,
had
secured
the
presence
at
lunch
of
Mr.
Magnet
(
who
was
after
all
staying
on
in
Buryhamstreet
)
and
the
Rev.
Jopling
Baynes
.
Aunt
Plessington
liked
to
meet
the
clergy
,
and
would
always
if
she
could
win
them
over
to
an
interest
in
the
Movement
.
She
opened
the
meal
with
a
brisk
attack
upon
him
.
"
Come
,
Mr.
Baynes
,
"
she
said
,
"
what
do
your
people
eat
here
?
Hubert
and
I
are
making
a
study
of
the
gluttonous
side
of
village
life
,
and
we
find
that
no
one
knows
so
much
of
that
as
the
vicar
—
not
even
the
doctor
.
"
The
Reverend
Jopling
Baynes
was
a
clergyman
of
the
evasive
type
with
a
quite
distinguished
voice
.
He
pursed
his
lips
and
made
his
eyes
round
.
"
Well
,
Mrs.
Plessington
,
"
he
said
and
fingered
his
glass
,
"
it
's
the
usual
dietary
.
The
usual
dietary
.
"
"
Too
much
and
too
rich
,
badly
cooked
and
eaten
too
fast
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
.
"
And
what
do
you
think
is
the
remedy
?
"
"
We
make
an
Effort
,
"
said
the
Rev.
Jopling
Baynes
,
"
we
make
an
Effort
.
A
Hint
here
,
a
Word
there
.
"
"
Nothing
organized
?
"
"
No
,
"
said
the
Rev.
Jopling
Baynes
,
and
shook
his
head
with
a
kind
of
resignation
.
"
We
are
going
to
alter
all
that
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
briskly
,
and
went
on
to
expound
the
Movement
and
the
diverse
way
in
which
it
might
be
possible
to
control
and
improve
the
domestic
expenditure
of
the
working
classes
.
The
Rev.
Jopling
Baynes
listened
sympathetically
across
the
table
and
tried
to
satisfy
a
healthy
appetite
with
as
abstemious
an
air
as
possible
while
he
did
so
.
Aunt
Plessington
passed
rapidly
from
general
principles
,
to
a
sketch
of
the
success
of
the
movement
,
and
Hubert
,
who
had
hitherto
been
busy
with
his
lunch
,
became
audible
from
behind
the
exceptionally
large
floral
trophy
that
concealed
him
from
his
wife
,
bubbling
confirmatory
details
.
She
was
very
bright
and
convincing
as
she
told
of
this
prominent
man
met
and
subdued
,
that
leading
antagonist
confuted
,
and
how
the
Bishops
were
coming
in
.
She
made
it
clear
in
her
swift
way
that
an
intelligent
cleric
resolved
to
get
on
in
this
world
en
route
for
a
better
one
hereafter
,
might
do
worse
than
take
up
her
Movement
.
And
this
touched
in
,
she
turned
her
mind
to
Mr.
Magnet
.
(
That
floral
trophy
,
I
should
explain
,
by
the
by
,
was
exceptionally
large
because
of
Mrs.
Pope
's
firm
conviction
that
Aunt
Plessington
starved
her
husband
.
Accordingly
,
she
masked
him
,
and
so
was
able
to
heap
second
and
third
helpings
upon
his
plate
without
Aunt
Plessington
discovering
his
lapse
.
The
avidity
with
which
Hubert
ate
confirmed
her
worst
suspicions
and
evinced
,
so
far
as
anything
ever
did
evince
,
his
gratitude
.
)
"
Well
,
Mr.
Magnet
,
"
she
said
,
"
I
wish
I
had
your
sense
of
humour
.
"
"
I
wish
you
had
,
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
.
"
I
should
write
tracts
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
.
"
I
knew
it
was
good
for
something
,
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
,
and
Daffy
laughed
in
a
tentative
way
.
"
I
mean
it
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
brightly
.
"
Think
if
we
had
a
Dickens
—
and
you
are
the
nearest
man
alive
to
Dickens
—
on
the
side
of
social
reform
to-day
!
"
Mr.
Magnet
's
light
manner
deserted
him
.
"
We
do
what
we
can
,
Mrs.
Plessington
,
"
he
said
.
"
How
much
more
might
be
done
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
,
"
if
humour
could
be
organized
.
"
"
Hear
,
hear
!
"
said
Mr.
Pope
.
"
If
all
the
humorists
of
England
could
be
induced
to
laugh
at
something
together
.
"
"
They
do
—
at
times
,
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
,
but
the
atmosphere
was
too
serious
for
his
light
touch
.
"
They
could
laugh
it
out
of
existence
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
.
It
was
evident
Mr.
Magnet
was
struck
by
the
idea
.
"
Of
course
,
"
he
said
,
"
in
Punch
,
to
which
I
happen
to
be
an
obscure
occasional
contributor
—
—
"
Mrs.
Pope
was
understood
to
protest
that
he
should
not
say
such
things
.
"
We
do
remember
just
what
we
can
do
either
in
the
way
of
advertising
or
injury
.
I
do
n't
think
you
'll
find
us
up
against
any
really
solid
institutions
.
"
"
But
do
you
think
,
Mr.
Magnet
,
you
are
sufficiently
kind
to
the
New
?
"
Aunt
Plessington
persisted
.
"
I
think
we
are
all
grateful
to
Punch
,
"
said
the
Rev.
Jopling
Baynes
suddenly
and
sonorously
,
"
for
its
steady
determination
to
direct
our
mirth
into
the
proper
channels
.
I
do
not
think
that
any
one
can
accuse
its
editor
of
being
unmindful
of
his
great
responsibilities
—
—
"
Marjorie
found
it
a
very
interesting
conversation
.
She
always
met
her
aunt
again
with
a
renewal
of
a
kind
of
admiration
.
That
loud
authoritative
rudeness
,
that
bold
thrusting
forward
of
the
Movement
until
it
became
the
sole
criterion
of
worth
or
success
,
this
annihilation
by
disregard
of
all
that
Aunt
Plessington
was
n't
and
did
n't
and
could
n't
,
always
in
the
intervals
seemed
too
good
to
be
true
.
Of
course
this
really
was
the
way
people
got
on
and
made
a
mark
,
but
she
felt
it
must
be
almost
as
trying
to
the
nerves
as
aeronautics
.
Suppose
,
somewhere
up
there
your
engine
stopped
!
How
Aunt
Plessington
dominated
the
table
!
Marjorie
tried
not
to
catch
Daffy
's
eye
.
Daffy
was
unostentatiously
keeping
things
going
,
watching
the
mustard
,
rescuing
the
butter
,
restraining
Theodore
,
and
I
am
afraid
not
listening
very
carefully
to
Aunt
Plessington
.
The
children
were
marvellously
silent
and
jumpily
well-behaved
,
and
Mr.
Pope
,
in
a
very
unusual
state
of
subdued
amiability
,
sat
at
the
end
of
the
table
with
the
East
Purblow
experiment
on
the
tip
of
his
tongue
.
He
liked
Aunt
Plessington
,
and
she
was
good
for
him
.
They
had
the
same
inherent
distrust
of
the
intelligence
and
good
intentions
of
their
fellow
creatures
,
and
she
had
the
knack
of
making
him
feel
that
he
too
was
getting
on
,
that
she
was
saying
things
on
his
behalf
in
influential
quarters
,
and
in
spite
of
the
almost
universal
conspiracy
(
based
on
jealousy
)
to
ignore
his
stern
old-world
virtues
,
he
might
still
be
able
to
battle
his
way
to
the
floor
of
the
House
of
Commons
and
there
deliver
himself
before
he
died
of
a
few
sorely
needed
home-truths
about
motor
cars
,
decadence
and
frivolity
generally
...
.
After
lunch
Aunt
Plessington
took
her
little
Madge
for
an
energetic
walk
,
and
showed
herself
far
more
observant
than
the
egotism
of
her
conversation
at
that
meal
might
have
led
one
to
suppose
.
Or
perhaps
she
was
only
better
informed
.
Aunt
Plessington
loved
a
good
hard
walk
in
the
afternoon
;
and
if
she
could
get
any
one
else
to
accompany
her
,
then
Hubert
stayed
at
home
,
and
curled
up
into
a
ball
on
a
sofa
somewhere
,
and
took
a
little
siesta
that
made
him
all
the
brighter
for
the
intellectual
activities
of
the
evening
.
The
thought
of
a
young
life
,
new
,
untarnished
,
just
at
the
outset
,
just
addressing
itself
to
the
task
of
getting
on
,
always
stimulated
her
mind
extremely
,
and
she
talked
to
Marjorie
with
a
very
real
and
effectual
desire
to
help
her
to
the
utmost
of
her
ability
.
She
talked
of
a
start
in
life
,
and
the
sort
of
start
she
had
had
.
She
showed
how
many
people
who
began
with
great
advantages
did
not
shove
sufficiently
,
and
so
dropped
out
of
things
and
were
n't
seen
and
mentioned
.
She
defended
herself
for
marrying
Hubert
,
and
showed
what
a
clever
shoving
thing
it
had
been
to
do
.
It
startled
people
a
little
,
and
made
them
realize
that
here
was
a
woman
who
wanted
something
more
in
a
man
than
a
handsome
organ-grinder
.
She
made
it
clear
that
she
thought
a
clever
marriage
,
if
not
a
startlingly
brilliant
one
,
the
first
duty
of
a
girl
.
It
was
a
girl
's
normal
gambit
.
She
branched
off
to
the
things
single
women
might
do
,
in
order
to
justify
this
view
.
She
did
not
think
single
women
could
do
very
much
.
They
might
perhaps
shove
as
suffragettes
,
but
even
there
a
husband
helped
tremendously
—
if
only
by
refusing
to
bail
you
out
.
She
ran
over
the
cases
of
a
number
of
prominent
single
women
.
"
And
what
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
,
"
do
they
all
amount
to
?
A
girl
is
so
hampered
and
an
old
maid
is
so
neglected
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
.
She
paused
.
"
Why
do
n't
you
up
and
marry
Mr.
Magnet
,
Marjorie
?
"
she
said
,
with
her
most
brilliant
flash
.
"
It
takes
two
to
make
a
marriage
,
aunt
,
"
said
Marjorie
after
a
slight
hesitation
.
"
My
dear
child
!
he
worships
the
ground
you
tread
on
!
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
.
"
He
's
rather
—
grown
up
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
Not
a
bit
of
it
.
He
's
not
forty
.
He
's
just
the
age
.
"
"
I
'm
afraid
it
's
a
little
impossible
.
"
"
Impossible
?
"
"
You
see
I
've
refused
him
,
aunt
.
"
"
Naturally
—
the
first
time
!
But
I
would
n't
send
him
packing
the
second
.
"
There
was
an
interval
.
Marjorie
decided
on
a
blunt
question
.
"
Do
you
really
think
,
aunt
,
I
should
do
well
to
marry
Mr.
Magnet
?
"
"
He
'd
give
you
everything
a
clever
woman
needs
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
.
"
Everything
.
"
With
swift
capable
touches
she
indicated
the
sort
of
life
the
future
Mrs.
Magnet
might
enjoy
.
"
He
's
evidently
a
man
who
wants
helping
to
a
position
,
"
she
said
.
"
Of
course
his
farces
and
things
,
I
'm
told
,
make
no
end
of
money
,
but
he
's
just
a
crude
gift
by
himself
.
Money
like
that
is
nothing
.
With
a
clever
wife
he
might
be
all
sorts
of
things
.
Without
one
he
'll
just
subside
—
you
know
the
sort
of
thing
this
sort
of
man
does
.
A
rather
eccentric
humorous
house
in
the
country
,
golf
,
croquet
,
horse-riding
,
rose-growing
,
queer
hats
.
"
"
Is
n't
that
rather
what
he
would
like
to
do
,
aunt
?
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
That
's
not
our
business
,
Madge
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
with
humorous
emphasis
.
She
began
to
sketch
out
a
different
and
altogether
smarter
future
for
the
fortunate
humorist
.
There
would
be
a
house
in
a
good
central
position
in
London
where
Marjorie
would
have
bright
successful
lunches
and
dinners
,
very
unpretending
and
very
good
,
and
tempt
the
clever
smart
with
the
lure
of
the
interestingly
clever
;
there
would
be
a
bright
little
country
cottage
in
some
pretty
accessible
place
to
which
Aunt
and
Uncle
Plessington
and
able
and
influential
people
generally
could
be
invited
for
gaily
recreative
and
yet
extremely
talkative
and
helpful
week-ends
.
Both
places
could
be
made
centres
of
intrigue
;
conspiracies
for
getting
on
and
helping
and
exchanging
help
could
be
organized
,
people
could
be
warned
against
people
whose
getting-on
was
undesirable
.
In
the
midst
of
it
all
,
dressed
with
all
the
natural
wit
she
had
and
an
enlarging
experience
,
would
be
Marjorie
,
shining
like
a
rising
planet
.
It
would
n't
be
long
,
if
she
did
things
well
,
before
she
had
permanent
officials
and
young
cabinet
ministers
mingling
with
her
salad
of
writers
and
humorists
and
the
Plessington
connexion
.
"
Then
,
"
said
Aunt
Plessington
with
a
joyous
lift
in
her
voice
,
"
you
'll
begin
to
weed
a
little
.
"
For
a
time
the
girl
's
mind
resisted
her
.
But
Marjorie
was
of
the
impressionable
sex
at
an
impressionable
age
,
and
there
was
something
overwhelming
in
the
undeviating
conviction
of
her
aunt
,
in
the
clear
assurance
of
her
voice
,
that
this
life
which
interested
her
was
the
real
life
,
the
only
possible
successful
life
.
The
world
reformed
itself
in
Marjorie
's
fluent
mind
,
until
it
was
all
a
scheme
of
influence
and
effort
and
ambition
and
triumphs
.
Dinner-parties
and
receptions
,
men
wearing
orders
,
cabinet
ministers
more
than
a
little
in
love
asking
her
advice
,
beautiful
robes
,
a
great
blaze
of
lights
;
why
!
she
might
be
,
said
Aunt
Plessington
rising
to
enthusiasm
,
"
another
Marcella
.
"
The
life
was
not
without
its
adventurous
side
;
it
was
n't
in
any
way
dull
.
Aunt
Plessington
to
illustrate
that
point
told
amusing
anecdotes
of
how
two
almost
impudent
invitations
on
her
part
had
succeeded
,
and
how
she
had
once
scored
off
her
elder
sister
by
getting
a
coveted
celebrity
through
their
close
family
resemblance
.
"
After
accepting
he
could
n't
very
well
refuse
because
I
was
n't
somebody
else
,
"
she
ended
gleefully
.
"
So
he
came
—
and
stayed
as
long
as
anybody
.
"
What
else
was
there
for
Marjorie
to
contemplate
?
If
she
did
n't
take
this
by
no
means
unattractive
line
,
what
was
the
alternative
?
Some
sort
of
employment
after
a
battle
with
her
father
,
a
parsimonious
life
,
and
even
then
the
Oxbridge
tradesmen
and
their
immortal
bills
...
.
Aunt
Plessington
was
so
intent
upon
her
theme
that
she
heeded
nothing
of
the
delightful
little
flowers
she
trampled
under
foot
across
the
down
,
nor
the
jolly
squirrel
with
an
artistic
temperament
who
saw
fit
to
give
an
uninvited
opinion
upon
her
personal
appearance
from
the
security
of
a
beech-tree
in
the
wood
.
But
Marjorie
,
noting
quite
a
number
of
such
things
with
the
corner
of
her
mind
,
and
being
now
well
under
the
Plessington
sway
,
wished
she
had
more
concentration
...
.
In
the
evening
after
supper
the
customary
games
were
suspended
,
and
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Plessington
talked
about
getting
on
,
and
work
and
efficiency
generally
,
and
explained
how
so-and-so
had
spoilt
his
chances
in
life
,
and
why
so-and-so
was
sure
to
achieve
nothing
,
and
how
this
man
ate
too
much
and
that
man
drank
too
much
,
and
on
the
contrary
what
promising
and
capable
people
the
latest
adherents
of
and
subscribers
to
the
Movement
were
,
until
two
glasses
of
hot
water
came
—
Aunt
Plessington
had
been
told
it
was
good
for
her
digestion
and
she
thought
it
just
as
well
that
Hubert
should
have
some
too
—
and
it
was
time
for
every
one
to
go
to
bed
.
Next
morning
an
atmosphere
of
getting
on
and
strenuosity
generally
prevailed
throughout
the
vicarage
.
The
Plessingtons
were
preparing
a
memorandum
on
their
movement
for
the
"
Reformer
's
Year
Book
,
"
every
word
was
of
importance
and
might
win
or
lose
adherents
and
subscribers
,
and
they
secured
the
undisturbed
possession
of
the
drawing-room
,
from
which
the
higher
notes
of
Aunt
Plessington
's
voice
explaining
the
whole
thing
to
Hubert
,
who
had
to
write
it
out
,
reached
,
a
spur
to
effort
,
into
every
part
of
the
house
.
Their
influence
touched
every
one
.
Marjorie
,
struck
by
the
idea
that
she
was
not
perhaps
getting
on
at
Oxbridge
so
fast
as
she
ought
to
do
,
went
into
the
summer-house
with
Marshall
's
"
Principles
of
Economics
,
"
read
for
two
hours
,
and
did
not
think
about
her
bills
for
more
than
a
quarter
of
the
time
.
Rom
,
who
had
already
got
up
early
and
read
through
about
a
third
of
"
Aurora
Leigh
,
"
now
set
herself
with
dogged
determination
to
finish
that
great
poem
.
Syd
practised
an
extra
ten
minutes
—
for
Aunt
Plessington
did
n't
mind
practice
so
long
as
there
was
n't
a
tune
.
Mrs.
Pope
went
into
the
kitchen
and
made
a
long-needed
fuss
about
the
waste
of
rice
.
Mr.
Pope
began
the
pamphlet
he
had
had
in
contemplation
for
some
time
upon
the
advantages
to
public
order
of
Payment
in
Kind
.
Theodore
,
who
had
washed
behind
his
ears
and
laced
his
boots
in
all
the
holes
,
went
into
the
yard
before
breakfast
and
hit
a
tennis
ball
against
the
wall
and
back
,
five
hundred
and
twenty-two
times
—
a
record
.
He
would
have
resumed
this
after
breakfast
,
but
his
father
came
round
the
corner
of
the
house
with
a
pen
in
his
mouth
,
and
asked
him
indistinctly
,
but
fiercely
,
what
the
devil
he
was
doing
.
So
he
went
away
,
and
after
a
fretful
interval
set
himself
to
revise
his
Latin
irregular
verbs
.
By
twelve
he
had
done
wonders
.
Later
in
the
day
the
widening
circle
of
aggressive
urgency
reached
the
kitchen
,
and
at
two
the
cook
gave
notice
in
order
,
she
said
,
to
better
herself
.
Lunch
,
unconscious
of
this
impending
shadow
,
was
characterized
by
a
virtuous
cheerfulness
,
and
Aunt
Plessington
told
in
detail
how
her
seven
and
twenty
nephews
and
nieces
,
the
children
of
her
various
sisters
,
were
all
getting
on
.
On
the
whole
,
they
were
not
getting
on
so
brilliantly
as
they
might
have
done
(
which
indeed
is
apt
to
be
the
case
with
the
children
of
people
who
have
loved
not
well
but
too
wisely
)
,
and
it
was
borne
in
upon
the
mind
of
the
respectfully
listening
Marjorie
that
,
to
borrow
an
easy
colloquialism
of
her
aunt
's
,
she
might
"
take
the
shine
out
of
the
lot
of
them
"
with
a
very
little
zeal
and
effort
—
and
of
course
Mr.
Magnet
.
The
lecture
in
the
evening
at
Summerhay
was
a
great
success
.
The
chair
was
taken
by
the
Rev.
Jopling
Baynes
,
Lady
Petchworth
was
enthroned
behind
the
table
,
Hubert
was
in
charge
of
his
wife
's
notes
—
if
notes
should
be
needed
—
and
Mr.
Pope
,
expectant
of
an
invitation
at
the
end
to
say
a
few
words
about
the
East
Purblow
experiment
,
also
occupied
a
chair
on
the
platform
.
Lady
Petchworth
,
with
her
abundant
soft
blond
hair
,
brightly
blond
still
in
spite
of
her
fifty-five
years
,
her
delicate
features
,
her
plump
hands
,
her
numerous
chins
and
her
entirely
inaudible
voice
,
made
a
pleasing
contrast
with
Aunt
Plessington
's
resolute
personality
.
She
had
perhaps
an
even
greater
assurance
of
authority
,
but
it
was
a
quiet
assurance
;
you
felt
that
she
knew
that
if
she
spoke
in
her
sleep
she
would
be
obeyed
,
that
it
was
quite
unnecessary
to
make
herself
heard
.
The
two
women
,
indeed
,
the
one
so
assertive
,
the
other
so
established
,
were
at
the
opposite
poles
of
authoritative
British
womanhood
,
and
harmonized
charmingly
.
The
little
room
struck
the
note
of
a
well-regulated
brightness
at
every
point
,
it
had
been
decorated
in
a
Keltic
but
entirely
respectful
style
by
one
of
Lady
Petchworth
's
artistic
discoveries
,
it
was
lit
by
paraffin
lamps
that
smelt
hardly
at
all
,
and
it
was
gay
with
colour
prints
illustrating
the
growth
of
the
British
Empire
from
the
battle
of
Ethandune
to
the
surrender
of
Cronje
.
The
hall
was
fairly
full
.
Few
could
afford
to
absent
themselves
from
these
brightening
occasions
,
but
there
was
a
tendency
on
the
part
of
the
younger
and
the
less
thoughtful
section
of
the
village
manhood
to
accumulate
at
the
extreme
back
and
rumble
in
what
appeared
to
be
a
slightly
ironical
spirit
,
so
far
as
it
had
any
spirit
,
with
its
feet
.
The
Rev.
Jopling
Baynes
opened
proceedings
with
a
few
well-chosen
remarks
,
in
which
he
complimented
every
one
present
either
singly
or
collectively
according
to
their
rank
and
importance
,
and
then
Aunt
Plessington
came
forward
to
the
centre
of
the
platform
amidst
a
hectic
flush
of
applause
,
and
said
"
Haw
!
"
in
a
loud
clear
ringing
tone
.
She
spoke
without
resorting
to
the
notes
in
Hubert
's
little
fist
,
very
freely
and
easily
.
Her
strangulated
contralto
went
into
every
corner
of
the
room
and
positively
seemed
to
look
for
and
challenge
inattentive
auditors
.
She
had
come
over
,
she
said
,
and
she
had
been
very
glad
to
come
over
and
talk
to
them
that
night
,
because
it
meant
not
only
seeing
them
but
meeting
her
very
dear
delightful
friend
Lady
Petchworth
(
loud
applause
)
and
staying
for
a
day
or
so
with
her
brother-in-law
Mr.
Pope
(
unsupported
outburst
of
applause
from
Mr.
Magnet
)
,
to
whom
she
and
social
reform
generally
owed
so
much
.
She
had
come
to
talk
to
them
that
night
about
the
National
Good
Habits
Movement
,
which
was
attracting
so
much
attention
and
which
bore
so
closely
on
our
National
Life
and
Character
;
she
happened
to
be
—
here
Aunt
Plessington
smiled
as
she
spoke
—
a
humble
person
connected
with
that
movement
,
just
a
mere
woman
connected
with
it
;
she
was
going
to
explain
to
them
as
well
as
she
could
in
her
womanly
way
and
in
the
time
at
her
disposal
just
what
it
was
and
just
what
it
was
for
,
and
just
what
means
it
adopted
and
just
what
ends
it
had
in
view
.
Well
,
they
all
knew
what
Habits
were
,
and
that
there
were
Good
Habits
and
Bad
Habits
,
and
she
supposed
that
the
difference
between
a
good
man
and
a
bad
man
was
just
that
the
good
man
had
good
habits
and
the
bad
one
had
bad
habits
.
Everybody
she
supposed
wanted
to
get
on
.
If
a
man
had
good
habits
he
got
on
,
and
if
he
had
bad
habits
he
did
n't
get
on
,
and
she
supposed
it
was
the
same
with
a
country
,
if
its
people
had
good
habits
they
got
on
,
and
if
its
people
had
bad
habits
they
did
n't
get
on
.
For
her
own
part
she
and
her
husband
(
Hubert
gave
a
little
self-conscious
jump
)
had
always
cultivated
good
habits
,
and
she
had
to
thank
him
with
all
her
heart
for
his
help
in
doing
so
.
(
Applause
from
the
front
seats
.
)
Now
,
the
whole
idea
of
her
movement
was
to
ask
,
how
can
we
raise
the
standard
of
the
national
habits
?
how
can
we
get
rid
of
bad
habits
and
cultivate
good
ones
?
...
(
Here
there
was
a
slight
interruption
due
to
some
one
being
suddenly
pushed
off
the
end
of
a
form
at
the
back
,
and
coming
to
the
floor
with
audible
violence
,
after
which
a
choked
and
obstructed
tittering
continued
intermittently
for
some
time
.
)
Some
of
her
audience
,
she
remarked
,
had
not
yet
acquired
the
habit
of
sitting
still
.
(
Laughter
,
and
a
coarse
vulgar
voice
:
"
Good
old
Billy
Punt
!
"
)
Well
,
to
resume
,
she
and
her
husband
had
made
a
special
and
careful
study
of
habits
;
they
had
consulted
all
sorts
of
people
and
collected
all
sorts
of
statistics
,
in
fact
they
had
devoted
themselves
to
this
question
,
and
the
conclusion
to
which
they
came
was
this
,
that
Good
Habits
were
acquired
by
Training
and
Bad
Habits
came
from
neglect
and
carelessness
and
leaving
people
,
who
were
n't
fit
for
such
freedom
,
to
run
about
and
do
just
whatever
they
liked
.
And
so
,
she
went
on
with
a
note
of
complete
demonstration
,
the
problem
resolved
itself
into
the
question
of
how
far
they
could
get
more
Training
into
the
national
life
,
and
how
they
could
check
extravagant
and
unruly
and
wasteful
and
unwise
ways
of
living
.
(
Hear
,
hear
!
from
Mr.
Pope
.
)
And
this
was
the
problem
she
and
her
husband
had
set
themselves
to
solve
.
(
Scuffle
,
and
a
boy
's
voice
at
the
back
,
saying
:
"
Oh
,
shut
it
,
Nuts
!
Shut
it
!
"
)
Well
,
she
and
her
husband
had
worked
the
thing
out
,
and
they
had
come
to
the
conclusion
that
what
was
the
matter
with
the
great
mass
of
English
people
was
first
that
they
had
rather
too
much
loose
money
,
and
secondly
that
they
had
rather
too
much
loose
time
.
(
A
voice
:
"
What
O
!
"
and
the
Rev.
Jopling
Baynes
suddenly
extended
his
neck
,
knitted
his
brows
,
and
became
observant
of
the
interrupter
.
)
She
did
not
say
they
had
too
much
money
(
a
second
voice
:
"
Not
Arf
!
"
)
,
but
too
much
loose
money
.
She
did
not
say
they
had
too
much
time
but
too
much
loose
time
,
that
is
to
say
,
they
had
money
and
time
they
did
not
know
how
to
spend
properly
.
And
so
they
got
into
mischief
.
A
great
number
of
people
in
this
country
,
she
maintained
,
and
this
was
especially
true
of
the
lower
classes
,
did
not
know
how
to
spend
either
money
or
time
;
they
bought
themselves
wasteful
things
and
injurious
things
,
and
they
frittered
away
their
hours
in
all
sorts
of
foolish
,
unprofitable
ways
.
And
,
after
the
most
careful
and
scientific
study
of
this
problem
,
she
and
her
husband
had
come
to
the
conclusion
that
two
main
principles
must
underlie
any
remedial
measures
that
were
attempted
,
the
first
of
which
was
the
Principle
of
Payment
in
Kind
,
which
had
already
had
so
interesting
a
trial
at
the
great
carriage
works
of
East
Purblow
,
and
the
second
,
the
Principle
of
Continuous
Occupation
,
which
had
been
recognized
long
ago
in
popular
wisdom
by
that
admirable
proverb
—
or
rather
quotation
—
she
believed
it
was
a
quotation
,
though
she
gave
,
she
feared
,
very
little
time
to
poetry
(
"
Better
employed
,
"
from
Mr.
Pope
)
—
"
Satan
finds
some
mischief
still
For
idle
hands
to
do
.
"
(
Irrepressible
outbreak
of
wild
and
sustained
applause
from
the
back
seats
,
and
in
a
sudden
lull
a
female
voice
asking
in
a
flattened
,
thwarted
tone
:
"
Ai
n't
there
to
be
no
lantern
then
?
"
)
The
lecturer
went
on
to
explain
what
was
meant
by
either
member
of
what
perhaps
they
would
permit
her
to
call
this
double-barrelled
social
remedy
.
It
was
an
admirable
piece
of
lucid
exposition
.
Slowly
the
picture
of
a
better
,
happier
,
more
disciplined
England
grew
upon
the
minds
of
the
meeting
.
First
she
showed
the
new
sort
of
employer
her
movement
would
evoke
,
an
employer
paternal
,
philanthropic
,
vaguely
responsible
for
the
social
order
of
all
his
dependants
.
(
Lady
Petchworth
was
seen
to
nod
her
head
slowly
at
this
.
)
Only
in
the
last
resort
,
and
when
he
was
satisfied
that
his
worker
and
his
worker
's
family
were
properly
housed
,
hygienically
clothed
and
fed
,
attending
suitable
courses
of
instruction
and
free
from
any
vicious
inclinations
,
would
he
pay
wages
in
cash
.
In
the
discharge
of
the
duties
of
payment
he
would
have
the
assistance
of
expert
advice
,
and
the
stimulus
of
voluntary
inspectors
of
his
own
class
.
He
would
be
the
natural
clan-master
,
the
captain
and
leader
,
adviser
and
caretaker
of
his
banded
employees
.
Responsibility
would
stimulate
him
,
and
if
responsibility
did
not
stimulate
him
,
inspectors
(
both
men
and
women
inspectors
)
would
.
The
worker
,
on
the
other
hand
,
would
be
enormously
more
healthy
and
efficient
under
the
new
régime
.
His
home
,
designed
by
qualified
and
officially
recognized
architects
,
would
be
prettier
as
well
as
more
convenient
and
elevating
to
his
taste
,
his
children
admirably
trained
and
dressed
in
the
new
and
more
beautiful
clothing
with
which
Lady
Petchworth
(
applause
)
had
done
so
much
to
make
them
familiar
,
his
vital
statistics
compared
with
current
results
would
be
astonishingly
good
,
his
mind
free
from
any
anxiety
but
the
proper
anxiety
of
a
man
in
his
position
,
to
get
his
work
done
properly
and
earn
recognition
from
those
competent
and
duly
authorized
to
judge
it
.
Of
all
this
she
spoke
with
the
inspiring
note
of
absolute
conviction
.
All
this
would
follow
Payment
in
Kind
and
Continuous
Occupation
as
days
follow
sunrise
.
And
there
would
always
,
—
and
here
Aunt
Plessington
's
voice
seemed
to
brighten
—
be
something
for
the
worker
to
get
on
with
,
something
for
him
to
do
;
lectures
,
classes
,
reading-rooms
,
improving
entertainments
.
His
time
would
be
filled
.
The
proper
authorities
would
see
that
it
was
filled
—
and
filled
in
the
right
way
.
Never
for
a
moment
need
he
be
bored
.
He
would
never
have
an
excuse
for
being
bored
.
That
was
the
second
great
idea
,
the
complementary
idea
to
the
first
.
"
And
here
it
is
,
"
she
said
,
turning
a
large
encouraging
smile
on
