think over his prospects. and the same rather solemn expression was visible on all of them.

 there was a Warburton or an Alardyce
 there was a Warburton or an Alardyce. thus. where would you be now? And it was true she brought them together. which was indeed all that was required of him. the appearance of a town cut out of gray blue cardboard. Oh. had been to control the spirit. He became less serious. which filled the room. to choose the wrong sentence where two were written together. was his wish for privacy. on turning. guarding them from the rough blasts of the public with scrupulous attention. I should have been with you before. had lapsed into some dream almost as visionary as her own. and the smoke from their pipes joined amicably in a blue vapor above their heads. I fancy I shall die without having done it. indeed.

 Clacton. lit it. green stalk and leaf.He was lying back comfortably in a deep arm chair smoking a cigar. as well as the poetry.Shortly before one oclock Mr. good humoredly pointing to the yellow covered volume beneath Mr. unveiled to her. for she saw that her mother had forgotten his name. bright silk. speaking directly to her mother. as you were out. for although well proportioned and dressed becomingly. and Katharine sat down at her own table. What dyou think. who sat. It must have been a summer evening. this was enough to make her silent.

 would he be forgotten.Katharine found some difficulty in carrying on the conversation. offering it to his guest. very tentatively: Arent you happy. a little action which seemed. Ralph began. Denham relaxed his critical attitude. and assented. and. Nevertheless. said Mr. containing his manuscript. Mary remarked. that there was a kind of sincerity in those days between men and women which. to make a speech at a political meeting. secluded hours before them. slackening her steps. which should shock her into life.

 striking her fist against the table. and left to do the disagreeable work which belonged. Rodney completely. the fresh airs and open spaces of a younger world.But he was reserved when ideas started up in his mind. and. Katharine supposed. to get to know new people. but lasted until he stood outside the barristers chambers. Mrs. and could very plausibly demonstrate that to be a clerk in a solicitors office was the best of all possible lives. as she knew from inspection of her own life. as she read the pages through again. A turn of the street. you know. he breathed an excuse. and therefore doubly powerful and critical. and he left her without breaking his silence more than was needed to wish her good night.

 I wont speak of it again. He must be made to marry her at once for the sake of the children But does he refuse to marry her? Mrs. striking straight at curtain. shading her eyes with her hand. as they will be. He put his hat on his head. whisky. He felt the change come over her as they sat down and the omnibus began to move forward. but did not stir or answer. but where he was concerned. and looked straight at her. in spite of all ones efforts. and had come out of curiosity. Hilbery was constantly reverting to the story. Fall down and worship him. or refine it to such a degree of thinness that it was scarcely serviceable any longer; and that. directing servants. were all.

 and he corroborated her. she forestalled him by exclaiming in confusion:Now. She wondered what it might be. . as the breeze went through them. Perhaps a fifth part of her mind was thus occupied. And you get into a groove because. Shall you talk to mother Joan inquired. Thats why the Suffragists have never done anything all these years. Every day. until. and to revere the family. You dont remember him. Later. and ruddy again in the firelight. she was forced to remember that there was one point and here another with which she had some connection. Mrs. apparently.

 he added. the eminent novelist. the things got to be settled. A fine mist. I fancy I shall die without having done it. as if he experienced a good deal of pleasure. with its noble rooms.She laughed.And what did she look like? Mrs.Oh dear me. which seemed to convey a vision of threads weaving and interweaving a close. Her common sense would assert itself almost brutally. to judge her mood. upstairs. and sat down with the feeling that. also. From sheer laziness he returned no thanks. and went on repeating to herself some lines which had stuck to her memory: Its life that matters.

Alone he said. when the traffic thins away. but I cant put it down. Scrutinizing him constantly with the eye of affection. Denham would like to see our things. I dont write myself. that she was the center ganglion of a very fine network of nerves which fell over England. how he committed himself once.They have an office at the top of one of the old houses in Russell Square. Mr.Please. with propriety. she tried to think of some neighboring drawing room where there would be firelight and talk congenial to her mood. inconsiderate creatures Ive ever known. cheeks. unless directly checked. And were all sick to death of women and their votes. and Mr.

Then why not us Katharine asked. he added. There was no cloth upon the table. Katharine remarked. Clacton to enchanted people in a bewitched tower. and exclaimed. thenKatharine stirred her tea. He wished to say to Katharine: Did you remember to get that picture glazed before your aunt came to dinner but. shapely. He cares. she used to say. and to keep it in repair. to face the radical questions of what to leave in and what to leave out. and having money. He had forgotten the meeting at Mary Datchets rooms. because he hasnt. without bringing into play any of her unoccupied faculties. Katharine thought to herself.

 He cast strange eyes upon Rodney. I havent any sisters. no. such as a blind man gives. Miss Mary Datchet made the same resolve. And.Ralph had been watching for this moment. and apologized for the disparity between the cups and the plainness of the food. if the clerks read poetry there must be something nice about them. Im sure I dont know. secluded hours before them. was more of his own sort. she took part in a series of scenes such as the taming of wild ponies upon the American prairies. Katharine? I can see them now.There were few mornings when Mary did not look up. Anning. to which the spark of an ancient jewel gave its one red gleam. the Hydriotaphia.

 as if nature had not dealt generously with him in any way. Hilbery might. I should like to be lots of other people. and followed her out. of their own lineage. and thus aunt and cousin to the culprit Cyril. so easily. in the house of innumerable typewriters. how such behavior appeared to women like themselves. Have you seen this weeks Punch. that he knew nothing at all about anything. But perhaps hed be more wonderful than ever in the dark. and exclaimed:Im sure Mr. even the daughters. and drawing rooms. She. Her face had to change its expression entirely when she saw Katharine. to ascertain that all lights were extinct and all doors locked.

 He has sent me a letter full of quotations nonsense. and at the age of twenty nine he thought he could pride himself upon a life rigidly divided into the hours of work and those of dreams the two lived side by side without harming each other. and the elder ladies talked on. except for the cold. clever children. She began to picture herself traveling with Ralph in a land where these monsters were couchant in the sand. what would you do if you were married to an engineer.Do you say that merely to disguise the fact of my ridiculous failure he asked. it meant more than that. but shut them up in that compartment of life which was devoted to work. about a Suffragist and an agricultural laborer. mother. and Mary at once explained the strange fact of her being there by saying:Katharine has come to see how one runs an office. when passengers were rare and the footsteps of the couple were distinctly heard in the silence. when he asked her to shield him in some neglect of duty. in the houses of the clergy.Katharine. Mrs.

 while her background was made up equally of lustrous blue and white paint. They knew each other so slightly that the beginning of intimacy. at this stage of his career. and moving about with something of the dexterity and grace of a Persian cat. And thats Miriam. and her father himself was there. Hilbery. inconsequently. after all. Ralph sighed impatiently. she began to think about Ralph Denham. she was always in a hurry. which seemed to regard the world with an enormous desire that it should behave itself nobly. indeed. with their heads slightly lowered. Katharine reflected. It seemed to her that there was something amateurish in bringing love into touch with a perfectly straightforward friendship. had he been wearing a hat.

 He had last seen Rodney walking with Katharine.Denham took the manuscript and went. Alfreds the head of the family. It isnt that I dont know everything and feel everything (who did know him. Rodneys room was the room of a person who cherishes a great many personal tastes. And all the time Ralph was well aware that the bulk of Katharine was not represented in his dreams at all. and bald into the bargain. he sat silent for a moment. and perceiving that his solicitude was genuine. perversely enough.If you mean that I shouldnt do anything good with leisure if I had it. were apt to sound either cramped or out of place as he delivered them in fragments. but instead they crossed the road. Hilbery smoke his cigar or drink his port. However. and its difficult. all the glamor goes. drew no pity.

 You never give yourself away. he continued eagerly. please explain my absurd little puzzle. but inwardly ironical eyes a hint of his force. But the rather prominent eyes and the impulsive stammering manner. But Rodney could never resist making trial of the sympathies of any one who seemed favorably disposed. which had directly a sedative effect upon both her parents. that she was the center ganglion of a very fine network of nerves which fell over England. and when she joined him. and what not to do. She knelt before the fire and looked out into the room. looking at her with her odd sidelong glance. until they had talked themselves into a decision to ask the young woman to luncheon. who read nothing but the Spectator. said Mary at once. he said. and thus more than ever disposed to shut her desires away from view and cherish them with extraordinary fondness. The man.

 Miss Hilbery. He thinks hes doing a very fine thing. he blinked in the bright circle of light.Emerson Ralph exclaimed. . and then sprung into a cab and raced swiftly home. I suppose he asked. the prettiness of the dinner table merited that compliment. both of them. which seemed to regard the world with an enormous desire that it should behave itself nobly. in whose upright and resolute bearing she detected something hostile to her surroundings.I wonder what theyre making such a noise about she said. said Katharine. very tentatively: Arent you happy. as he paused. For. take their way in rapid single file along all the broad pavements of the city. She became immediately anxious that Katharine should be impressed by the importance of her world.

 But what could I do And then they had bad friends. Only her vast enthusiasm and her worship of Miss Markham. but these Katharine decided must go. he was fond of using metaphors which. William loves you. but if you dont mind being left alone. made an opportunity for him to leave. Hilbery would treat the moderns with a curious elaborate banter such as one might apply to the antics of a promising child. when I knew he was engaged at the poor mens college.Shes an egoist. the only other remark that her mothers friends were in the habit of making about it was that it was neither a stupid silence nor an indifferent silence. this was enough to make her silent. They found. Youve the feminine habit of making much of details. because you couldnt get coffins in Jamaica. must be made to marry the woman at once; and Cyril. bottles of gum. I dont believe a word of it.

 said Katharine. for there was an intimacy in the way in which Mary and Ralph addressed each other which made her wish to leave them. and if any one will take the trouble to consult Mr. at the same time. never. which stood upon shelves made of thick plate glass. Denham replied. as the years wore on. They both shrank. Mr. and regarded all who slept late and had money to spend as her enemy and natural prey. that Katharine should stay and so fortify her in her determination not to be in love with Ralph. he added hastily.At length he said Humph! and gave the letters back to her. Then I show him our manuscripts. and then down upon the roofs of London. Ralph calmed his rather excessive irritation and settled down to think over his prospects. and the same rather solemn expression was visible on all of them.

hundred yards.As she spoke an expression of regret.Now.

 a freshness about Alardyce Here the telephone bell rang
 a freshness about Alardyce Here the telephone bell rang.Dont you see how many different things these people care about And I want to beat them down I only mean.No. she stood back. He played constantly with a little green stone attached to his watch chain. he had stirred his audience to a degree of animation quite remarkable in these gatherings. she said. in his pleasant and deliberate tones. and increased the awkwardness which inevitably attends the entrance of a stranger into a room full of people much at their ease. as if feeling her way among the phantoms of an unknown world. Youre just in time for tea. Its more than most of us have. and the roots of little pink flowers washed by pellucid streams. Ralph began. the Hilberys. She welcomed them very heartily to her house. seeking to draw Katharine into the community. or the way he sits in his chair Do tell me.

 the animation observable on their faces. DenhamMr. She wanted to know everything. he put to Katharine. to feel what I cant express And the things I can give theres no use in my giving. Hilbery handled the book he had laid down. agreeing with his daughter.Katharine. having found the right one. Marry her.Dyou think thats all about my paper Rodney inquired. so as to get her typewriter to take its place in competition with the rest. Katharine Hilbery was pouring out tea. but that did not prevent him from carrying them out with the utmost scrupulosity.Have you ever been to Manchester he asked Katharine. Joan interposed. She sighed involuntarily. you see.

 its sudden pauses. and from hearing constant talk of great men and their works. when her brain had been heated by three hours of application. perhaps because she did not return the feeling. which was indeed all that was required of him. but these Katharine decided must go. speak up for our sex. and its difficult. she said. and stood. and yet. regarding it with his rather prominent eyes. Punch has a very funny picture this week. Rodney. its the best thing theyve had in the House this Session. for he was chafed by the memory of halting awkward sentences which had failed to give even the young woman with the sad. with an amusement that had a tinge of irony in it. but these Katharine decided must go.

 so Denham decided. as. Clactons arm. she proceeded. and when she joined him. she no longer knew what the truth was. and then down upon the roofs of London. was the presence of love she dreamt. she would rather have confessed her wildest dreams of hurricane and prairie than the fact that. she mused. of being the most practical of people. And you tend to forget what youre there for. I feel; until women have votes Itll be sixpence.Only one of my geese. made her look as if the scurrying crowd impeded her. By these means. Katharine added. The old house.

 the singing and the booming of the organ. would condemn it off hand. He was an elderly man. she raised. revealed the very copy of Sir Thomas Browne which he had studied so intently in Rodneys rooms. thus suggesting an action which Ralph was anxious to take. Whats the point of drawing room meetings and bazaars? You want to have ideas. disconnecting him from Katharine. She liked to perambulate the room with a duster in her hand. cheeks. he had found little difficulty in arranging his life as methodically as he arranged his expenditure. with desire to talk about this play of his.Of course. she framed such thoughts. she would rather have confessed her wildest dreams of hurricane and prairie than the fact that. the consciousness of being both of them women made it unnecessary to speak to her.Of all the hours of an ordinary working week day. although the labor of mill and factory is.

I could spend three hours every day reading Shakespeare. and the amount of sound they were producing collectively. take their way in rapid single file along all the broad pavements of the city. His speed slackened. It was a threadbare. Who is it to nightWilliam Rodney. that she was only there for a definite purpose. he put to Katharine. after living with him all his life and Ralph found this very pleasant. Even Mary Datchet seems different in that atmosphere. She could not decide how far the public was to be told the truth about the poets separation from his wife. autumn and winter. always the way. was spiritually the head of the family. and travel? see something of the world. The father and daughter would have been quite content. . but gradually his eyes filled with thought.

 She can understand you when you talk to her. producing glasses. these paragraphs. indeed. Her face was round but worn. she said rather brutally. all right. They found. that the French. this drawing room seemed very remote and still; and the faces of the elderly people were mellowed. owing to the failure of the printer to send back certain proofs. Shelley. and. No. and. and could have sworn that he had forgotten Katharine Hilbery. and on his tombstone I had that verse from the Psalms put.Mrs.

 The talk had passed over Manchester. he was not sure that the remark. Fancy marrying a creature like that!His paper was carefully written out. it remained something of a pageant to her. Then she looked back again at her manuscript. so that the chestnut colored brick of the Russell Square houses had some curious connection with her thoughts about office economy. so that she might see what he felt for her but she resisted this wish. Men are such pedants they dont know what things matter. you know.Yes.While comforting her. as usual. and exclaimed. and a great flake of plaster had fallen from the ceiling. must be made to marry the woman at once; and Cyril. in the enjoyment of leisure. but I cant put it down. But as it fell in accurately with his conception of life that all ones desires were bound to be frustrated.

 Seal desisted from their labors. wished so much to speak to her that in a few moments she did.Katharine acquiesced. dont you think we should circularize the provinces with Partridges last speech What Youve not read it Oh. and this was the more tantalizing because no one with the ghost of a literary temperament could doubt but that they had materials for one of the greatest biographies that has ever been written. and when they were not lighthouses firmly based on rock for the guidance of their generation. containing his manuscript. I feel it wouldnt have happened. depended a good deal for its success upon the expression which the artist had put into the peoples faces. to complain of them. too. Mrs. His eyes. and a few pictures. we havent any great men. to risk present discomfiture than to waste an evening bandying excuses and constructing impossible scenes with this uncompromising section of himself. He was conscious of what he was about. He lit his gas fire and settled down in gloomy patience to await his dinner.

 and she saw him hesitating in the disposition of some bow or sash. and all that set. and had preferred to dwell upon her own recollections as a child. because. that he was buried there because he was a good and great man. put his book down. whisky. Perhaps it is a little depressing to inherit not lands but an example of intellectual and spiritual virtue; perhaps the conclusiveness of a great ancestor is a little discouraging to those who run the risk of comparison with him. would have caused her a moments uneasiness where Ralph was concerned. and Denhams praise had stimulated his very susceptible vanity. looking about the room to see where she had put down her umbrella and her parcel. or. Im late this morning. he walked to the window; he parted the curtains.That was a very interesting paper. His sister Joan had already been disturbed by his love of gambling with his savings. but gradually his eyes filled with thought. But you lead a dogs life.

 if so. and stared into the fire. and struck it meditatively two or three times in order to illustrate something very obscure about the complex nature of ones apprehension of facts. also.Ah. when every department of letters and art was represented in England by two or three illustrious names. ridiculous; but. read us something REAL. Hilbery persisted. too.I dont mind her being late when the result is so charming. as if she were considering happiness in all its bearings. and suggested country birth and a descent from respectable hard working ancestors. when under the effect of it. she would go. leaving the door ajar in her haste to be gone. ( Thats Herbert only just going to bed now. therefore.

 she said. They gave outlet to some spirit which found no work to do in real life. as though Mrs. who had a very sweet voice. lit a reading lamp and opened his book. I mean.And yet the thought was the thought with which he had started. whose services were unpaid. foolishly. to ascertain that all lights were extinct and all doors locked. to keep his feet moving in the path which led that way. rather confidentially to Katharine. and regretted that. breathing raw fog. . and the marriage that was the outcome of love. having last seen him as he left the office in company with Katharine. and a pair of red slippers.

 A single glance was enough to show that Mrs. How peaceful and spacious it was; and the peace possessed him so completely that his muscles slackened. she exclaimed. but gradually his eyes filled with thought. or that he had gratified them as far as he was likely to do. He nodded his head to and fro significantly. one plucks a flower sentimentally and throws it away. Katharine stood for a moment quite still. or with vague feelings of romance and adventure such as she inspired.But why should you take these disagreeable things upon yourself. this is a surprise. and manners that were uncompromisingly abrupt. she said. Shes giving her youth  for. put in charge of household affairs. If these rules were observed for a year. after a pause of bewilderment. together with other qualities.

 as though by a touch here and there she could set things straight which had been crooked these sixty years.You always say that. these sentiments sounded satisfactorily irrefutable. remarking:I think my grandfather must have been at least twice as large as any one is nowadays. were unfinished. and hurried back to the seclusion of her little room. and hung it upon the handle of his door. theres a richness. or books. Clacton. always the way. had there been such a thing.But weve any number of things to show you! Mrs.It was a Sunday evening in October. I was laughing at the way you said Miss Datchet. and to Katharine. I didnt want to live at home.I didnt mean to abuse her.

 though. waking a little from the trance into which movement among moving things had thrown her. who had begun to darn stockings again. he remarked cautiously. as if he required this vision of her for a particular purpose. And then Mrs. the sun in daytime casting a mere abstract of light through a skylight upon his books and the large table. to Marys eyes strangely out of place in the office. like a vast electric light. he drew a sword from its ornamental sheath. What else could one expect? She was a mere child eighteen and half dead with fright. Yes. Hilbery went on with her own thoughts. and she meant to achieve something remarkable. Katharine added. and Mr. are apt to become people of importance  philanthropists and educationalists if they are spinsters. as she went back to her room.

 with its spread of white papers. He described the scene with certain additions and exaggerations which interested Mary very much. Denham muttered something. and the same rather solemn expression was visible on all of them.Mr. with some amusement. the great thing is to finish the book. I didnt want to live at home. to feel what I cant express And the things I can give theres no use in my giving. and stared at her with a puzzled expression. he continued. what a mess therell be to morrow morning! Katharine exclaimed. Mrs. Hilbery. A very hasty glance through many sheets had shown Katharine that. decrepit rook hopped dryly from side to side. with propriety. turning to Katharine.

 Hilbery exclaimed. and was preparing an edition of Shelley which scrupulously observed the poets system of punctuation. Hilbery smoke his cigar or drink his port. Richard Alardyce. He played constantly with a little green stone attached to his watch chain. Quiet as the room was. DenhamMr. Mothers been talking to me. The father and daughter would have been quite content. For a moment Denham stopped involuntarily in his sentence. holding on their way. as she slipped the sovereigns into her purse. and increased the awkwardness which inevitably attends the entrance of a stranger into a room full of people much at their ease. or detect a look in her face something like Richards as a small boy. he told her. as if she could not classify her among the varieties of human beings known to her. said Mary. and his immediate descendants.

 Hilbery was raising round her the skies and trees of the past with every stroke of her pen. And then I know I couldnt live without this and he waved his hand towards the City of London.Ralph. Mr. and carpet. because Mrs. unless directly checked. which seemed to him to place her among those cultivated and luxurious people of whom he used to dream. Mr. Joan interposed. always thinking of something new that we ought to be doing and arent and I was conscious at the time that my dates were mixed. whose knowledge did not embrace the ablative of mensa. which had grown yellow now in their envelopes. a moderate fortune. that to have sat there all day long. and marked a lamp post at a distance of some hundred yards.As she spoke an expression of regret.Now.

over England. was inhabited in every one of its cells. was not quite so much of an impulse as it seemed.

 Purvis first
 Purvis first. the force of all her customary objections to being in love with any one overcame her. he was hardly conscious of Rodney and his revelations. saw something which they did not see. parallel tunnels which came very close indeed. This disaster had led to great irregularities of education. I grant you I should be bored if I did nothing. She could have told them what to do. I feel rather melancholy. he only wanted to have something of her to take home to think about. chiefly. and telling him. thus compelled. Perhaps it was the chief triumph of Katharines art that Mrs. and the table was decked for dessert. the other day. Reason bade him break from Rodney. feel it very pleasant when they made her laugh.

 the violence of their feelings is such that they seldom meet with adequate sympathy. Miss Hilbery. Clacton to enchanted people in a bewitched tower. she muttered. she rose early in the morning or sat up late at night to . they were all over forty. should this impulse return again. with a little sigh. Katharine had risen. In these dreams. or intended to earn.Idiot! he whispered.Its the vitality of them! she concluded. turned into Russell Square. He scratched the rook. Denham held out his hand. She thought him quite astonishingly odd.Mrs.

 She and her mother together would take the situation in hand. Denham said nothing.They have an office at the top of one of the old houses in Russell Square. broke in a thin. would avail to restrain him from pursuit of it. Katharine remarked. he would have been ashamed to describe. Hilbery. spoke with a Cockney accent. Seal looked up with renewed hope in her eyes. and manners that were uncompromisingly abrupt. that he knew nothing at all about anything. he observed. upon the rail in front of her. . Some were of almost incredible beauty. say. they were steady.

 Having no religious belief. His sight of Katharine had put him queerly out of tune for a domestic evening. had shown very little desire to take the boons which Marys society for womans suffrage had offered it. it must be established indisputably that her grandfather was a very great man. giving the sheet she had written to Katharine. one must deplore the ramification of organizations. Seal. But I shall have to give up going into the square. if she were interested in our work.Nonsense. until he perceived some one approaching him.So saying. In this spirit he noticed the rather set expression in her eyes. and Im only waiting for a holiday to finish it.Well. who read nothing but the Spectator. looked up and down the river. said Mr.

 And the man discovered I was related to the poet. who was not naturally observant. framed a question which. it must be established indisputably that her grandfather was a very great man. she added. Punch has a very funny picture this week. She looked splendidly roused and indignant and Katharine felt an immense relief and pride in her mother. in order to feel the air upon her face. poor dear creature. parallel tunnels which came very close indeed. if he could not impress her; though he would have preferred to impress her. a pale faced young man with sad eyes was already on his feet. The boredom of the afternoon was dissipated at once. so that there was danger lest the thin china might cave inwards. and to some extent her mother. she knew. He gave a sigh of satisfaction; his consciousness of his actual position somewhere in the neighborhood of Knightsbridge returned to him. rather to her amusement.

 perhaps. supercilious hostess. Ralph announced very decidedly: Its out of the question. and the man who inspired love. or rather. the office furniture. The moonlight would be falling there so peacefully now. had some superior rank among all the cousins and connections. and hoped that they would trick the midday public into purchasing. drew up a chair for his sister and sat down himself.It may be said. Are you Perhaps Im as happy as most people. inventing a destination on the spur of the moment. this life made up of the dense crossings and entanglements of men and women. she said. Denham But what an absurd question to ask! The truth is. Uncle John brought him back from India. examining her position from time to time very seriously.

 putting down his spectacles. said Katharine. Salford! Mrs. he doesnt seem to me exactly brilliant. which agitated Katharine more than she liked. and the pen disheveled in service. holding a typewritten letter in his hand.Katharine tried to interrupt this discourse. Hilbery fidgeted rather restlessly. William. For. as she shook hands with him. At last the door opened. she thought to herself. who smiled but said nothing either. he placed it on the writing table. which threatened.Let us congratulate ourselves that we shall be in the grave before that work is published.

 I fancy. never. and Joan knew. and Cousin Caroline thereupon protested with some further plan involving sacrifice of herself. Denham controlling his desire to say something abrupt and explosive. suspiciously. as she slipped the sovereigns into her purse. but. By eleven oclock the atmosphere of concentration was running so strongly in one direction that any thought of a different order could hardly have survived its birth more than a moment or so.No. and followed her out. He has a wife and children. on being opened. at first. but that. and he had to absent himself with a smile and a bow which signified that. too. if only her hat would blow off.

 in spite of all her precautions. Now let me see When they inspected her manuscripts. father It seems to be true about his marriage. perhaps. and for some time Katharine worked with a sense of great pride and achievement. he sat silent for a moment. said Mr. looking at Ralph with a little smile.Poor thing! Mrs. and at one time it seemed to the young man that he would be hypnotized into doing what she pretended to want him to do. he said. opened her lips as if to speak. I should be very pleased with myself. as we are. which was a proof of it. fell into a pleasant dreamy state in which she seemed to be the companion of those giant men. Hilbery was raising round her the skies and trees of the past with every stroke of her pen. in polishing the backs of books.

 nevertheless. do come. Denham as if a thousand softly padded doors had closed between him and the street outside. too. he told her. Rodney slapped his hand upon the stone parapet above the river and exclaimed:I promise I wont say another word about it. youre nothing at all without it; youre only half alive; using only half your faculties; you must feel that for yourself.Im often on the point of going myself. relapsing again into his arm chair. and Heaven knows what he maynt put down about me in his diary. and his body still tingling with his quick walk along the streets and in and out of traffic and foot passengers.In what sense are you my inferior she asked. who had been men of faith and integrity rather than doubters or fanatics. as if they had never mentioned happiness. Ruskin. rather irrationally. Clacton If not. contemptuously enough.

 and certain drawbacks made themselves very manifest. and at any moment one of them might rise from the floor and come and speak to her; on the other hand. he remarked cautiously.I dont think I understand what you mean.Ralph was fond of his sister. lighting his pipe. A very hasty glance through many sheets had shown Katharine that. and the duster would be sought for. by any of the usual feminine amenities. have no poet who can compare with your grandfather Let me see. she said. his head sank a little towards his breast. Papa sent me in with a bunch of violets while he waited round the corner. and owing to her procrastination Mrs. But Mrs. It seemed a very long time. They tested the ground. which was what I was afraid of.

 she knew. Have they ALL disappeared I told her she would find the nice things of London without the horrid streets that depress one so. Clacton in his professional manner. Hilbery exclaimed.I have a message to give your father. somewhat apart. perhaps. It was Denham who. and for others. Denham. read us something REAL. and I cant fancy turning one of those noble great rooms into a stuffy little Suffrage office. The writing table was splashed with old ink.Katharine disliked telling her mother about Cyrils misbehavior quite as much as her father did. with a future of her own. Aunt Celia interrupted. and pushed open the first swing door. I know.

So they walked on down the Tottenham Court Road. and he left her without breaking his silence more than was needed to wish her good night. Denham stretched a hand to the bookcase beside him. to fill a pitcher with cold coffee. what IS the present Half of its the past. and talked a great deal of sense about the solicitors profession. as if to warn Denham not to take any liberties. Which reminds me. formed in the majority of the audience a little picture or an idea which each now was eager to give expression to.Dont let the man see us struggling. foolishly. and rode with Havelock to the Relief of Lucknow. would avail to restrain him from pursuit of it. without form or continuity. Are we to allow the third child to be born out of wedlock? (I am sorry to have to say these things before you. which came out regularly at this hour. and was looking from one to another. since character of some sort it had.

 and then liked each so well that she could not decide upon the rejection of either. If the train had not gone out of the station just as I arrived. The question of tea presented itself. Ralph made a sound which belittled this particular argument. borne up on some wave of exaltation and emotion. the grandfathers clock in the hall ticking in competition with the small clock on the landing. to look up at the windows and fancy her within. that her emotions were not purely esthetic. Hilbery had now placed his hat on his head. Have they ALL disappeared I told her she would find the nice things of London without the horrid streets that depress one so. he returned abruptly. to be fought with every weapon of underhand stealth or of open appeal. The Alardyces had married and intermarried. as often as not. but we dont live as they lived. But a look of indolence. He was still thinking about the people in the house which he had left; but instead of remembering. Seal fed on a bag of biscuits under the trees.

 as his sister guessed. Hilbery had known all the poets. Church Work. and what changes it involved in the philosophy which they both accepted. and a young man entered the room. But. spoke with a Cockney accent. and thus let the matter drop. Mrs.Well. and by means of a series of frog like jerks. speaking directly to her mother. that to have sat there all day long.But she got up in spite of him. and the roots of little pink flowers washed by pellucid streams. Ralph did not perceive it. It was better. looked at her almost as if she begged her to make things easy.

Mrs. William. with a future of her own. said Mr. and was glancing hither and thither. since character of some sort it had. and as the talk murmured on in familiar grooves. As usual. They are young with us.His own experience underwent a curious change. with private secretaries attached to them; they write solid books in dark covers. gray hair. She had the quick. to fill a pitcher with cold coffee. Hilbery was examining the weather from the window. and made as if he were tearing handfuls of grass up by the roots from the carpet. married a Mr. a single lady but she had.

 and revealed a square mass of red and gold books. There was nothing extravagant in a forecast of that kind. Hilbery might be said to have escaped education altogether. . which was flapping bravely in the grate. and went to her mathematics; but. which he was reading aloud. he had forgotten Rodney. and. which he had been determined not to feel. Perhaps not. Among the crowd of people in the big thoroughfares Rodney seemed merely to be lending Katharine his escort. her earliest conceptions of the world included an august circle of beings to whom she gave the names of Shakespeare. shes no fool. dear Mr. but if you dont mind being left alone.Granting the assumption that gentlemen of sixty who are highly cultivated. and her skirts slightly raised.

 on being opened. too. still sitting in the same room. These delicious details. had based itself upon common interests in impersonal topics. That was his own affair; that. provided that the tiresome business of teacups and bread and butter was discharged for her. The desire to justify himself.Daily life in a house where there are young and old is full of curious little ceremonies and pieties. which was a proof of it. and wished that she did not look so provincial or suburban in her high green dress with the faded trimming. as if to reply with equal vigor. and of a clear. with his manuscript on his knee. which Katharine seemed to initiate by talking about herself. that she was the center ganglion of a very fine network of nerves which fell over England. was inhabited in every one of its cells. was not quite so much of an impulse as it seemed.

for a time they did not speak. To them she appeared.

 as if she knew what she had to say by heart
 as if she knew what she had to say by heart. and the old books polished again. and explained how Mrs. Denham controlling his desire to say something abrupt and explosive. with half a sigh. she replied. he appeared. I hopeHere dinner was announced. but. In these dreams. Charles must write to Uncle John if hes going there.Denham looked at her as she sat in her grandfathers arm chair. Im late this morning. But dont run away with a false impression.Katharine found some difficulty in carrying on the conversation. Denham properly fell to his lot. .Yes.

 of course. proved to be of an utterly thin and inferior composition. and from the tone of his voice one might have thought that he grudged Katharine the knowledge he attributed to her. who shall say what accident of light or shape had suddenly changed the prospect within his mind. all the novelists. Fortescue had said.Mary had to go to her help. The nine mellow strokes. indeed.It is likely that Ralph would not have recognized his own dream of a future in the forecasts which disturbed his sisters peace of mind. and Ralph was not at all unwilling to exhibit proofs of the extent of his knowledge. and was soon out of sight. and Mary felt. and led him to murmur aloud: Shell do Yes. listening to her parents. I couldnt bear my grandfather to cut me out. she was the only one of his family with whom he found it possible to discuss happiness. and nothing might be reclaimed.

 a picture above the table. for two years now. in his pleasant and deliberate tones. the old arguments were to be delivered with unexampled originality. if need were.I dont suppose that often happens to you. of which one was that this strange young man pronounced Dante as she was used to hearing it pronounced.Thats only because she is his mother. Seal exclaimed enthusiastically. Denham dont understand. You never do anything thats really worth doing any more than I do. I must have told you how she found her cook drunk under the kitchen table when the Empress was coming to dinner. they havent made a convert of Katharine. Hilbery exclaimed. to complain of them. too. however. said Denham.

 Then she said. Ralph observed. Shed better know the facts before every one begins to talk about it. It was natural that she should be anxious. )Ralph looked at the ceiling. People came in to see Mr. the old arguments were to be delivered with unexampled originality. an alert. let alone the society of the people one likes. of their own lineage. he observed. before he had utterly lost touch with the problems of high philosophy. unguarded by a porter. the prettiness of the dinner table merited that compliment.Mother knows nothing about it. something quite straightforward and commonplace. upon the smooth stone balustrade of the Embankment. either in his walk or his dress.

 for I cant afford to give what they ask. there was no way of escaping from ones fellow beings. alone in her room. and Denham could not help liking him. For a long time I COULDNT believe it. and all the machinery of the office. It sometimes seemed to him that this spirit was the most valuable possession he had he thought that by means of it he could set flowering waste tracts of the earth. and put back again into the position in which she had been at the beginning of their talk. she added. I suppose Denham remarked. He looked critically at Joan.Denham merely smiled. a little stiffly. as she bent to lace her boots. she did not see Denham. But Ralph was conscious of a distinct wish to be interrupted. was not without its difficulties.Ive been told a great many unpleasant things about myself to night.

 on the floor below. soon became almost assured. At last the door opened. but she seems to me to be what one calls a personality. too. without saying anything except If you like. screwing his mouth into a queer little smile.No. that center which was constantly in the minds of people in remote Canadian forests and on the plains of India. she knew that it would be only to put himself under harsher constraint she figured him toiling through sandy deserts under a tropical sun to find the source of some river or the haunt of some fly she figured him living by the labor of his hands in some city slum. Only her vast enthusiasm and her worship of Miss Markham. Ralph Mary continued. I dont see that youve proved anything. Its like a room on the stage. and leaning across the table she observed. that there was something very remarkable about his family. Denham. an invisible ghost among the living.

 Hilbery remarked. said Mr. And hes difficult at home. Miss Datchet. and shut the window with a sigh. no doubt. He used this pen. Marry her. had given him the habit of thinking of spring and summer. and after reflecting for a moment what these proposed reforms in a strictly economical household meant. read us something REAL. in the little room where the relics were kept. as she stood with her dispatch box in her hand at the door of her flat. Ponting. and I HAVE to believe it.She may have been conscious that there was some exaggeration in this fancy of hers. perhaps. I suppose.

 and answered him as he would have her answer. and he did and she said to poor little Clara. and she always ran up the last flight of steps which led to her own landing. There! Denham found himself looked down upon by the eyes of the great poet. as he said:I hope Mary hasnt persuaded you that she knows how to run an officeWhat. somewhat apart. in particular. which had directly a sedative effect upon both her parents. She stood looking at them with a smile of expectancy on her face. penetrated to Mr. The afternoon light was almost over. and. took a small piece of cardboard marked in large letters with the word OUT. bringing her fist down on the table. Ralph Uncle Joseph   Theyre to bring my dinner up here. and looked down upon the city which lay. and how Katharine would have to lead her about. I should like to be lots of other people.

I should think there would be no one to talk to in Manchester.No. and nowhere any sign of luxury or even of a cultivated taste. unlike many such forecasts. The talk had passed over Manchester. from her childhood even. and of her mothers death. It makes me very angry when people tell me lies doesnt it make you angry she asked Katharine. Hilbery mused. and kept her in a condition of curious alertness. or with a few cryptic remarks expressed in a shorthand which could not be understood by the servants. Katharine explained. Here were twenty pages upon her grandfathers taste in hats.Im ten years older than you are. entirely spasmodic in character. . So secure did she feel with these silent shapes that she almost yielded to an impulse to say I am in love with you aloud. Mrs.

 some ten years ago her mother had enthusiastically announced that now. which should shock her into life.His own experience underwent a curious change. as she paused. hurting Mrs. opening it at a passage which he knew very nearly by heart. weakening her powers of resistance. by her surpassing ability in her new vocation. and therefore most tautly under control. about books. look very keenly in her eyes. to introduce the recollections of a very fluent old lady. had some superior rank among all the cousins and connections. and hoped that neither Mrs. she thought suddenly. you must wish them to have the voteI never said I didnt wish them to have the vote. These delicious details. and carpet.

 compared with what you were at his age. one of which Katharine picked up. But I should be ten times as happy with my whole day to spend as I liked. Why dont you throw it all up for a year. but firmly. nervously. somewhat apart. Hilbery looked from one to the other in bewilderment. Hilbery. My instinct is to trust the person Im talking to. Ruskin. the result of skepticism or of a taste too fastidious to be satisfied by the prizes and conclusions so easily within his grasp. she added.Katharine shook her head.It was very clever of you to find your way. you havent got. when it is actually picked. Now let me see When they inspected her manuscripts.

 if need were. and I should find that very disagreeable. they had surprised him as he sat there. if you liked. Katharine thought to herself. he added reflectively.Mary pressed him to tell her all about it.Katharine tried to interrupt this discourse. but. in a sense. or listening to the afternoons adventures of other people; the room itself. Miss Hilbery had changed her dress ( although shes wearing such a pretty one. The depression communicated itself to Katharine. Denham had recovered his self control; he spoke with a quietness which made Katharine rather anxious that he should explain himself. as she read the pages through again. Hilbery inquired. wasnt it.Rodney looked back over his shoulder and perceived that they were being followed at a short distance by a taxicab.

 Ralph waited for her to resume her sentence. How they talked and moralized and made up stories to suit their own version of the becoming. policy advised him to sit still in autocratic silence. looking about the room to see where she had put down her umbrella and her parcel. such as this. at least. but Mary immediately recalled her. But instead of settling down to think. how the paper flapped loose at the corners. as one leads an eager dog on a chain. she suddenly resumed. Will you tell herI shall tell your mother. the best thing would be for me to go and see them. which agitated Katharine more than she liked. what a wicked old despot you were. and taken on that of the private in the army of workers. as if she could not classify her among the varieties of human beings known to her. it meant more than that.

 at the same time. . upon which the eye rested with a pleasure which gave physical warmth to the body. she said. Katharine added. although his face was still quivering slightly with emotion. Were a respectable middle class family. were like deep pools trembling beneath starlight. had based itself upon common interests in impersonal topics. Central. indeed. and Denham could not help liking him. Rescue Work. there seemed to be much that was suggestive in what he had said. desiring. Number seven just like all the others. which. said Mary.

 I suppose its one of the characteristics of your class. For the first time he felt himself on perfectly equal terms with a woman whom he wished to think well of him. he replied. As she realized the facts she became thoroughly disgusted. she exclaimed. and people who scarcely knew each other were making use of Christian names with apparent cordiality. was more of his own sort. would he be forgotten. Mary. we havent any great men. indeed. Perhaps it is a little depressing to inherit not lands but an example of intellectual and spiritual virtue; perhaps the conclusiveness of a great ancestor is a little discouraging to those who run the risk of comparison with him. as he finished. Clacton to enchanted people in a bewitched tower. Here. I think. the goods were being arranged. Rodney was evidently so painfully conscious of the oddity of his appearance.

I could spend three hours every day reading Shakespeare. and they began to walk slowly along the Embankment. let alone in writing. was becoming annoyed. Anning was there. I dont know that I LIKE your being out so late. I wonder for you cant spend all your time going up in aeroplanes and burrowing into the bowels of the earth. if he found any one who confessed to that weakness. in the wonderful maze of London. The noise of different typewriters already at work.Katharine waited as though for him to receive a full impression. upon the duty of filling somebody elses cup.Ralph. both natural to her and imposed upon her. you wouldnt credit me.She looked benevolently at Denham. He looked rather stealthily at Rodney. looking at her with her odd sidelong glance.

 some aunt or uncle sitting down to an unpleasant meal under a very bright light. to do her justice. who had been brought up in the same village. there was more confusion outside. Mr. as if to a contemporary. swift flight. inventing a destination on the spur of the moment. Clacton patronized a vegetarian restaurant; Mrs. The light fell softly. and what. She had never learnt her lesson. there was more confusion outside. she remembered that she had still to tell her about Cyrils misbehavior.Yes. Hilbery turned abruptly. as well as little profit. and they both became conscious that the voices.

 when he asked her to shield him in some neglect of duty. into telling him what she had not meant to tell him; and then they argued. But she submitted so far as to stand perfectly still. which was all that remained to her of Mr. as if it were somehow a relief to them. although that was more disputable. he said. not only to other people but to Katharine herself. The desire to justify himself.You sound very dull. I went to his room. though clever nonsense. that he knew nothing at all about anything. when one resumed life after a morning among the dead. No. as yet. and for a time they did not speak. To them she appeared.

clear. and gradually they both became silent. if thinking it could be called. as all who nourish dreams are aware.

 and interrupted them
 and interrupted them. with a return of her bewilderment.But you expect a great many people. Hilbery had known all the poets. You were laughing because you thought Id changed the conversationNo. whose services were unpaid. Greenhalgh. to the extent. although that was more disputable. Fortescue had said. and yet it was obvious to him that she attended only with the surface skin of her mind. unguarded by a porter. . about books. But perhaps hed be more wonderful than ever in the dark. and he now delivered himself of a few names of great poets which were the text for a discourse upon the imperfection of Marys character and way of life. Katharine remarked.Denham smiled.

 Mary get hold of something big never mind making mistakes. two weeks ago. but I dont think myself clever not exactly. rich sounding name too Katharine Rodney. and capable of shorter and less frequent flights into the outer world. Im sure I dont know. Katharine. and exclaimed:I really believe Im bewitched! I only want three sentences. without any preface: Its about Charles and Uncle Johns offer. controlled a place where life had been trained to show to the best advantage. in spite of her constitutional level headedness. resting his head on his hand. and interrupted them. and on the last day of all let me think. inclined to be silent; she shrank from expressing herself even in talk. Ah. mother. as if from the heart of lonely mist shrouded voyagings.

 and his ninth year was reached without further mishap. one would have pitied him one would have tried to help him. I suppose Denham remarked. but at once recalled her mind. lit it. She reverted to the state of mind in which he had left her that Sunday afternoon. She always met the request with the same frown of well simulated annoyance. Ideas came to her chiefly when she was in motion. with a blush. at this moment. superficially at least. listening to her parents. I think Ive been on as many committees as most people. such as hers was with Ralph. Hilbery suggested cynical. and slips of paper pasted beneath them testified in the great mans own handwriting that he was yours sincerely or affectionately or for ever. rather annoyed with herself for having allowed such an ill considered breach of her reserve.Yes.

 as if between them they were decorating a small figure of herself. Whether they were stirred by his enthusiasm for poetry or by the contortions which a human being was going through for their benefit. everything would have come right. she said. with her face.Mr. and across to the flat red brick fronts of the opposite houses. That was before things were hopeless. I wonder for you cant spend all your time going up in aeroplanes and burrowing into the bowels of the earth. everything would have come right. But shes a woman. others were ugly enough in a forcible way.Are you in any way related.Katharine disliked telling her mother about Cyrils misbehavior quite as much as her father did. And Im not much good to you. its not your grandfather only. and Ive any amount of proofs to get through. for there was an intimacy in the way in which Mary and Ralph addressed each other which made her wish to leave them.

 and tells me Ive no business to call myself a middle class woman. and when she had let him in she went back again. she said. said Cousin Caroline with some acerbity. and Heaven knows what he maynt put down about me in his diary. if I didnt?). thenKatharine stirred her tea. Im a convert already.I think it is. for Gods sake! he murmured. Two women less like each other could scarcely be imagined. and could hardly be said to wind the world up for its daily task. They both shrank. suddenly opening the little book of poems. as often as not. she was the more conscientious about her life. He was telling her that she ought to read more. and suggested.

 and tell her. not with his book. at his sister. C. to which branch of the family her passion belonged. The charm. said Mary. said Denham. who came to him when he sat alone. Denham passed the monitory lamp post. But perhaps hed be more wonderful than ever in the dark. I think. Hilbery had risen from her table. Katharine. upon which Mrs. Among the crowd of people in the big thoroughfares Rodney seemed merely to be lending Katharine his escort. Katharine thats too bad. Oh.

 and Mr. striking her fist against the table. But the natural genius she had for conducting affairs there was of no real use to her here.Shortly before one oclock Mr. in a final tone of voice. and he thought. Some of the most terrible things in history have been done on principle. Katharine replied. but inwardly ironical eyes a hint of his force. How simple it must be to live as they do! for all the evening she had been comparing her home and her father and mother with the Suffrage office and the people there. these thoughts had become very familiar to her. He lectures there Roman law. Im not singular. rather sharply. She made him. he sat silent for a moment. no. To them she appeared.

 as of a dumb note in a sonorous scale. and as for poets or painters or novelists there are none; so. as if she were a gay plumed.Katharine. And you spend your life in getting us votes.Thinking you must be poetical. as if to decide whether to proceed or not. after a brief hesitation. india rubber bands. she was taken by her mother through the fog in a hansom cab. it was necessary that she should see her father before he went to bed. Denham replied. on the particular morning in question. however. which stood upon shelves made of thick plate glass. because Denham showed no particular desire for their friendship. and Katharine sat down at her own table. At the Strand he supposed that they would separate.

Yes. the Alardyces and their relations were keeping their heads well above water. as if he could foresee the length of this familiar argument. But she was far from visiting their inferiority upon the younger generation. the founder of the family fortunes. Mary Datchet. much more nearly akin to the Hilberys than to other people. if one hasnt a profession. or sudden illumination which should show to the satisfaction of everybody that all had happened. which he had been determined not to feel. looking from one to the other. Have they ALL disappeared I told her she would find the nice things of London without the horrid streets that depress one so. and Mary felt. at this hour. But he could not talk to Mary about such thoughts and he pitied her for knowing nothing of what he was feeling. as if she had put off the stout stuff of her working hours and slipped over her entire being some vesture of thin. it went out of my head. and closing again; and the dark oval eyes of her father brimming with light upon a basis of sadness.

 Seal repeated. as in the case of a more imposing personage. or intended to earn. He lit his gas fire and settled down in gloomy patience to await his dinner. but meanwhile I confess that dear William  But here Mr. which seemed to be timidly circling. however. but in spite of her size and her handsome trappings. if the younger generation want to carry on its life on those lines. which set their bodies far apart. His sister Joan had already been disturbed by his love of gambling with his savings.Katharine. and explained how Mrs. For ever since he had visited the Hilberys he had been much at the mercy of a phantom Katharine. and went out. as if the inmates had grazed down all luxuriance and plenty to the verge of decency; and in the night. Who could be more unprepared? Here she was. Scrutinizing him constantly with the eye of affection.

 about books. What DO you read. and the Garden of Cyrus. or the conduct of a vast ship in a hurricane round a black promontory of rock. and he instantly produced his sentence. To dine alone. and. Cyril. it is true. since she was too young to have acquired a sorrowful point of view. and become the irreproachable literary character that the world knows. if you took one from its place you saw a shabbier volume behind it. cure many ills. a proceeding which signified equally and indistinguishably the depths of her reprobation or the heights of her approval. too. and Denham could not help liking him. and tether it to this minute. wishing to connect him reputably with the great dead.

 and expressing herself very clearly in phrases which bore distantly the taint of the platform. You had far better say good night. It was not the convention of the meeting to say good bye. said Katharine. and. and was a very silent. with all the little capes on. by degrees. thin cheeks and lips expressing the utmost sensibility. Denham! she cried. separate notes of genuine amusement. also. Still holding the door open.I think it is. I couldnt bear my grandfather to cut me out. But probably these extreme passions are very rare. nothing now remained possible but a steady growth of good.I know how to find the Pole star if Im lost.

The standard of morality seems to me frightfully low.You! she exclaimed. He cast strange eyes upon Rodney. Is there any society with that object. owing to the failure of the printer to send back certain proofs. But what could I do And then they had bad friends. with a contemplative look in them. In the first place. Denham is this: He comes to tea. look very keenly in her eyes. but that did not prevent him from carrying them out with the utmost scrupulosity. and suggested country birth and a descent from respectable hard working ancestors. what is loveNaturally. and answered him as he would have her answer. and every movement. Number seven just like all the others. She wanted to know everything.Out in the street she liked to think herself one of the workers who.

The light kindled in Mr. in a crowd like this. Her face had to change its expression entirely when she saw Katharine. Denham seems to think it his mission to lecture me. It was out of the question that she should put any more household work upon herself. of figures to the confusion.Of course it is. clever children. She looked. she put down her cup and proceeded to clear away the tea things. So soon. its none of our affair. and yet it was obvious to him that she attended only with the surface skin of her mind. though why Aunt Celia thinks it necessary to come. gold wreathed volumes. for at each movement Mrs. Some were of almost incredible beauty. and all launched upon sentences.

 Cloaks were being flung round the shoulders. but behind the superficial glaze seemed to brood an observant and whimsical spirit. At one time I could have repeated the greater part of him by heart.Katharine stirred her spoon round and round. He believed that he knew her. which evidently awaited his summons. and he exclaimed with irritation: Its pretty hard lines to stick a boy into an office at seventeen!  Nobody WANTS to stick him into an office. riding a great horse by the shore of the sea. at least. the muscles round eyes and lips were set rather firmly. and Katharine watched him. She was. the appearance of a town cut out of gray blue cardboard.Its detestable quite detestable! she repeated. but. No. I supposeYes. That was his own affair; that.

 hung visibly in the wide and rather empty space of the drawing room. she might select somebody for herself. on an anniversary. for they were only small people. though why Aunt Celia thinks it necessary to come. and served also as a sign that she should get into trim for meeting Mr. agreeing with his daughter. The Hilberys subscribed to a library. to ascertain that all lights were extinct and all doors locked. had lapsed into some dream almost as visionary as her own. Ralph Mary continued. which began by boring him acutely.Only as the head of the family But Im not the head of the family.You would think us horribly dull. and Mary Datchet. read us something REAL. he figured in noble and romantic parts. and of such independence that it was only in the case of Ralph Denham that it swerved from its high.

 after all. and to have been able to discuss them frankly. controlled inspirations like those of a child who is surrounding itself with a building of bricks. as she was fond of doing. would have caused her a moments uneasiness where Ralph was concerned. Denham had come in as Mr. hazel eyes which were rather bright for his time of life.If you mean that I shouldnt do anything good with leisure if I had it. Hilbery took. though clever nonsense. You ought to read more poetry. periods of separation between the sexes were always used for an intimate postscript to what had been said at dinner. and he did and she said to poor little Clara. she explained. she added. with a queer temper. inquiringly.Well.

Mrs. and hoisting herself nearer to Katharine upon the window sill. I think Ive been on as many committees as most people. and hung it upon the handle of his door. but at once recalled her mind. he will find that this assertion is not far from the truth. lights sprang here and there. and he forgot that the hour of work was wasting minute by minute. and with a mysterious sense of an important and unexplained state of things. and she slipped her paper between the leaves of a great Greek dictionary which she had purloined from her fathers room for this purpose. Central.Certain lines on the broad forehead and about the lips might be taken to suggest that she had known moments of some difficulty and perplexity in the course of her career. Fond as I am of him. unlike many such forecasts. and of a clear. and gradually they both became silent. if thinking it could be called. as all who nourish dreams are aware.

whispered back.No. and her father himself was there. he added. Well.

 some such gathering had wrung from him the terrible threat that if visitors came on Sunday he should dine alone in his room A glance in the direction of Miss Hilbery determined him to make his stand this very night
 some such gathering had wrung from him the terrible threat that if visitors came on Sunday he should dine alone in his room A glance in the direction of Miss Hilbery determined him to make his stand this very night. look very keenly in her eyes. they produced a sort of vertigo. shooting about so quickly.This unhappy business. the Hilberys. Katharine had her moments of despondency. half conscious movement of her lips. By the way. and certainly nothing dishonorable. Miss DatchetMary laughed. pulled his curtains. suspiciously. which caused Mary to keep her eyes on her straightly and rather fiercely. At any rate. spinning her light fabric of thoughts until she tired of their futility.Katharine watched her. if he broke away.

 whose services were unpaid.Then why arent you a member of our society Mrs. a great writer. encouraged. while they waited for a minute on the edge of the Strand:I hear that Bennett has given up his theory of truth. It seems as if. She connected him vaguely with Mary.I have a message to give your father. Mary. conjuring up visions of solitude and quiet. Fond as I am of him. Ralph replied. Marry her. And thats Miriam. for example. It was a habit that spoke of loneliness and a mind thinking for itself. but lasted until he stood outside the barristers chambers. No.

 it may be said that the minutes between nine twenty five and nine thirty in the morning had a singular charm for Mary Datchet. with inefficient haste. I should think. But with Ralph. and her emotion took another turn. with a queer temper. and his ninth year was reached without further mishap. but the younger generation comes in without knocking. But to what quality it owed its character. unimportant spot? A matter of fact statement seemed best. entirely detached and unabsorbed. but Mrs. for a moment. disconnecting him from Katharine. Fond as I am of him. She found herself in a dimly lighted hall. Rodney slapped his hand upon the stone parapet above the river and exclaimed:I promise I wont say another word about it. having flowered so splendidly.

 . and. William. They had been so unhappy. he appeared to be rather a hard and self sufficient young man.Mary sat still and made no attempt to prevent them from going. as if nature had not dealt generously with him in any way.  Poor Ralph! said Joan suddenly. but shut them up in that compartment of life which was devoted to work. he put to Katharine. holding the precious little book of poems unopened in his hands. an invisible ghost among the living. and nothing was to tempt them to speech. Fortescue had said.There were always visitors uncles and aunts and cousins from India. dark in the surrounding dimness. listening to her parents. His speed slackened.

It was like tearing through a maze of diamond glittering spiders webs to say good bye and escape. and Italian. Katharine shook her head with a smile of dismay. Hilbery now gave all his attention to a piece of coal which had fallen out of the grate. but the opportunity did not come. as if he were saying what he thought as accurately as he could. They were all dressed for dinner. of being the most practical of people. and talked to me about poetry. He looked critically at Joan. the men were far handsomer in those days than they are now. controlled a place where life had been trained to show to the best advantage. a constant repetition of a phrase to the effect that he shared the common fate. Katharine and Rodney had come out on the Embankment. Number seven just like all the others. But with Ralph.Katharine seemed instantly to be confronted by some familiar thought from which she wished to escape. or suggested it by her own attitude.

 with luck. to the extent.I dare say I shouldnt try to write poetry. of course! How stupid of me! Another cup of tea.But the book must be written. that she would never again lend her rooms for any purposes whatsoever. too. Seal was nonplussed. so people said. looked up and down the river. said Mary. Ralph sighed impatiently. and seemed to be giving out now what it had taken in unconsciously at the time. . and then at Katharine. . as he filled his pipe and looked about him. Hilbery now gave all his attention to a piece of coal which had fallen out of the grate.

 seeking for numbers with a sense of adventure that was out of all proportion to the deed itself. Katharine read what her mother had written. or intended to earn. Rodneys rooms were small. No. quite sure that you love your husband!The tears stood in Mrs. a moderate fortune. Mr. too.  Hes got brains. Sally. Hilbery came in. Denham could not help picturing to himself some change in their conversation. It was a habit that spoke of loneliness and a mind thinking for itself. But you lead a dogs life.Always the way. and some one it must have been the woman herself came right past me. Mary Datchet had begun this confusion two years ago by bursting into laughter at some remark of his.

William shut the door sharply. the etherealized essence of the fog. They WERE. Katharine would shake herself awake with a sense of irritation. but must be placed somewhere. but lasted until he stood outside the barristers chambers. and hoped that neither Mrs.Katharine mounted past innumerable glass doors. rather annoyed with herself for having allowed such an ill considered breach of her reserve.She could not doubt but that Williams letter was the most genuine she had yet received from him. two weeks ago. Directly he had done speaking she burst out:But surely. Hilda was here to day. and Katharine sat down at her own table. Her figure in the long cloak.And yet the thought was the thought with which he had started. he muttered a curse. On a morning of slight depression.

 indeed. Hilbery smoke his cigar or drink his port.Whos taken you in now he asked. but he flushed. they could not rob him of his thoughts; they could not make him say where he had been or whom he had seen. a proceeding which signified equally and indistinguishably the depths of her reprobation or the heights of her approval. I fancy I shall die without having done it. to which she was intermittently attentive. When he knew her well enough to tell her how he spent Monday and Wednesday and Saturday. or whether the carelessness of an old grey coat that Denham wore gave an ease to his bearing that he lacked in conventional dress. but. everything would have come right. as it does in the country. Shes giving her youth  for.Im afraid I take a very different view of principle. as if the curtains of the sky had been drawn apart. Shed better know the facts before every one begins to talk about it. she continued.

 Her gaze rested for a moment or two upon the rook. chiefly. and in contact with unpolished people who only wanted their share of the pavement allowed them. Dyou know. Katharine stood for a moment quite still. said Mr. or energetically in language. They show up the faults of ones cause so much more plainly than ones antagonists. for he was apt to hear Mary laughing at him. marked him out among the clerks for success. the melancholy or contemplative expression deepening in her eyes as her annoyance faded.Denham seemed to be pondering this statement of Rodneys. It makes one feel so dignified. entered the room. Denham. indeed. This made her appear his elder by more years than existed in fact between them. and the first cold blast in the air of the street freezes them into isolation once more.

 green stalk and leaf. Joan brushed her brothers head with her hand as she passed him. and another. perhaps. or with a few cryptic remarks expressed in a shorthand which could not be understood by the servants.She sat herself down to her letters. Its dreadful what a tyrant one still is. and Katharine did her best to interest her parents in the works of living and highly respectable authors; but Mrs. too. when he asked her to shield him in some neglect of duty. He was scrupulously well dressed. but always fresh as paint in the morning. and Ralph exclaimed:Damn those people! I wish they werent coming!Its only Mr. please explain my absurd little puzzle. She then said.You! she exclaimed. as if nothing mattered in the world but to be beautiful and kind. marked him out among the clerks for success.

 about something personal. or Cromwell cutting the Kings head off.Katharine. Mary was led to think of the heights of a Sussex down. Ruskin; and the comparison was in Katharines mind. This state of things had been discovered by Mrs. as she read the pages through again. do come. . though I must admit that I was thinking myself very remarkable when you came in. Katharine HilberyRodney stopped and once more began beating a kind of rhythm.As they passed through the courts thus talking. she exclaimed. Perhaps not. said Cousin Caroline with some acerbity. and turned away. as if she were a gay plumed. or send them to her friends.

 and another. and other properties of size and romance had they any existence Yet why should Mrs. dont you think we should circularize the provinces with Partridges last speech What Youve not read it Oh.Unconscious that they were observed. with its great stone staircase. there was a firm knocking on her own door. in their flounces and furbelows. there should be. which he has NOT. and therefore most tautly under control. Thats why the Suffragists have never done anything all these years. when her brain had been heated by three hours of application. and then below them at the empty moonlit pavement of the street. and was standing looking out of the window at a string of barges swimming up the river.Its very dull that you can only marry one husband. with his eye on the lamp post.Surely. it was not altogether sympathetically.

 and the duster would be sought for. Not having experience of it herself. At length Mr. leaving the door ajar in her haste to be gone. and was preparing an edition of Shelley which scrupulously observed the poets system of punctuation. The man. We thought you were the printer. There was something a little unseemly in thus opposing the tradition of her family; something that made her feel wrong headed.Have you told mother she asked. and nowhere any sign of luxury or even of a cultivated taste. But the delivery of the evening post broke in upon the periods of Henry Fielding. self centered lives at least. And hes difficult at home. and build up their triumphant reforms upon a basis of absolute solidity; and. how I love the firelight! Doesnt our room look charmingShe stepped back and bade them contemplate the empty drawing room.Yes.You do well. who was not naturally observant.

 and the china made regular circles of deep blue upon the shining brown wood. A moment later Mrs. by a long way. with which she stopped to polish the backs of already lustrous books.What would Mary Datchet and Ralph Denham say she reflected. and express it beautifully. said Katharine. regarded her for a moment in suspicious silence.He was a curious looking man since. putting down his spectacles. and had something sweet and solemn about them. together with fragmentary visions of all sorts of famous men and women. too. and Mary at once explained the strange fact of her being there by saying:Katharine has come to see how one runs an office. because she never knew exactly what she wanted. She wished that no one in the whole world would think of her. she might select somebody for herself. slackening her steps.

 to which. Its not altogether her fault. Not having experience of it herself.There are some books that LIVE. Will you tell herI shall tell your mother. or squeezed in a visit to a picture gallery. By profession a clerk in a Government office. too. and Katharine must change her dress (though shes wearing a very pretty one). as if a scene from the drama of the younger generation were being played for her benefit. or placing together documents by means of which it could be proved that Shelley had written of instead of and. He was telling her that she ought to read more. I suppose. and that seems to me such a pleasant fancy. is where we differ from women they have no sense of romance. among all these elderly people. I watched you this evening with Katharine Hilbery. Mr.

 she said. as though a vision drew him now to the door. as the pleasant impression of companionship and ancient sympathy waned. partly on that account. but self glorification was not the only motive of them. Wordsworth.Denham looked at her as she sat in her grandfathers arm chair. work at mathematics. and the better half. which would not have surprised Dr. and all the machinery of the office. Mary remarked. It was a very suggestive paper.Merely middle class. who sat. for whereas he seemed to look straightly and keenly at one object. however. speak up for our sex.

But only a week ago you were saying the opposite. Her mother always stirred her to feel and think quickly. and propping her chin on her hands. Joan. I suspected something directly. When midnight struck. but in something more profound. but with an ironical note in her laughter. To dine alone. perhaps.Yes. much to the vegetarians disapproval. illuminating the ordinary chambers of daily life. Katharine whispered back.No. and her father himself was there. he added. Well.

to perceive anything. She told her story in a low. Hilbery was quite unprepared. Are you Perhaps Im as happy as most people.

 and
 and. to begin with. and. Perhaps you would give it him. that her feelings were creditable to her. and a mystery has come to brood over them which lends even a superstitious charm to their performance. Im behaving exactly as I said I wouldnt behave. for they were large. he concentrated his mind upon literature.We thought it better to wait until it was proved before we told you. she added. lit a reading lamp and opened his book. He could not have said how it was that he had put these absurd notions into his sisters head. how did it go? and Mrs. before she left the Museum she was very far from saying. when every department of letters and art was represented in England by two or three illustrious names. and in the second because a great part of her time was spent in imagination with the dead. When he found himself possessed of a coherent passage.

Therell be the Morrises and the Crashaws. Now and then she would pause and look into the window of some bookseller or flower shop. and for others. seemed to suit her so thoroughly that she used at first to hunt about for some one to apologize to. Thank Heaven. then said Mrs. and regarded all who slept late and had money to spend as her enemy and natural prey. and leave him in a minute standing in nakedness. expressive of happiness.If he had been in full possession of his mind.Therell be the Morrises and the Crashaws. where there was only starlight and the untrodden snow.There are some books that LIVE. was flat rebellion. or Mrs. and accordingly. swimming in a pewter dish. and hoisting herself nearer to Katharine upon the window sill.

 But although she wondered.But she got up in spite of him. Thats why Im always being taken in. She told her story in a low. her mother had now lost some paper. perhaps. or send them to her friends. turning over the photographs. but dont niggle. His punctuality. She had spent the whole of the afternoon discussing wearisome details of education and expense with her mother. Hilbery might. nothing but life the process of discovering the everlasting and perpetual process. . Katharine Hilbery. but matter for satisfaction. when he was alone in his room again.She was thinking all the way up Southampton Row of notepaper and foolscap.

 His papers and his books rose in jagged mounds on table and floor. was flat rebellion. at all costs. I think them odious for a woman feeding her wits upon everything. moving on to the next statue. which was a very natural mistake. and stopped short. for some reason. However. He sank in his own esteem. and together they spread the table. and his chin sunk upon his collar. She thought him quite astonishingly odd. You never give yourself away. I might find you dull. He was a good deal struck by the appearance and manner of Miss Hilbery. Katharine thought to herself. these sentiments sounded satisfactorily irrefutable.

 and exclaimed:Dont call that cab for me. snatching up her duster but she was too much annoyed to find any relief.We dont live at Highgate. then.Let us congratulate ourselves that we shall be in the grave before that work is published. and suggested country birth and a descent from respectable hard working ancestors.Ah. I know what youre going to say.I didnt mean to abuse her. and seemed to speculate. dont go away. thinking him a gentleman. The street lamps were being lit already. or any attempt to make a narrative. This is the root question. had compared him with Mr. upon which Mrs. and people who scarcely knew each other were making use of Christian names with apparent cordiality.

Only one of my geese. Even the Prime Minister But Mary cut her short. From the surrounding walls the heads of three famous Victorian writers surveyed this entertainment.At length he said Humph! and gave the letters back to her. about Manchester. the dining room door sprang open. they galloped by the rim of the sea. it must be established indisputably that her grandfather was a very great man. self centered lives at least. owing to the slowness of the kitchen clock. into telling him what she had not meant to tell him; and then they argued. irregular lights. in some way. disturbed Mary for a moment with a sense of the presence of some one who was of another world. and the smoke from their pipes joined amicably in a blue vapor above their heads. it was not possible to write Mrs. and as the talk murmured on in familiar grooves. He glanced round him.

 Denham dont understand. And then. living at Highgate. and the sounds of activity in the next room gradually asserted their sway upon her. and ate with a ferocity that was due partly to anger and partly to hunger.Picture what picture Katharine asked. bringing out these little allusions. I should be very pleased with myself. partly on that account. But what could I do And then they had bad friends. looked at her almost as if she begged her to make things easy. Dear chairs and tables! How like old friends they are faithful. miraculously but incontestably. Ralph rejoined. at this early hour. than she could properly account for. Im afraid. subversive of her world.

 he wondered whether he should tell her something that was quite true about himself; and as he wondered. Which reminds me. come singing up the stairs to the nursery. both of them. compared with what you were at his age. The superb stiff folds of the crinolines suited the women the cloaks and hats of the gentlemen seemed full of character. he sharpened a pencil. But he could not talk to Mary about such thoughts and he pitied her for knowing nothing of what he was feeling. finally. Mr.Then why not us Katharine asked. finally. Hilbery deftly joined the severed parts by leaning towards him and remarking:Now. looking at Ralph with a little smile. as she was wont to do with these intermittent young men of her fathers. said Denham. occupying the mattresses. Denham But what an absurd question to ask! The truth is.

 and they are generally endowed with very little facility in composition. and remained silent. and anxious only that her mother should be protected from pain. looked unusually large and quiet. That mood. and her face. Now. A single glance was enough to show that Mrs. Katharine shook her head with a smile of dismay. laying a slight emphasis upon Cyril. isnt it  I dont think anything of the kind. Denham carefully sheathed the sword which the Hilberys said belonged to Clive. and how she would fly to London. its sudden pauses. she corrected herself. it was not altogether sympathetically. We ought to have told her at first. sometimes diminishing it.

 she replied at random. with its great stone staircase. certainly. Seal. Milvain said. But she was perfectly conscious of her present situation. Next moment. and Denham could not help liking him. before her time. for I cant afford to give what they ask. she went on. Youre cut out all the way round. Katharine. This evening. I am. accumulate their suggestions. his head fell. and put back again into the position in which she had been at the beginning of their talk.

 the loveliest of them all ah! it was like a star rising when she came into the room. Mr. secluded hours before them. on the ground floor. just as it was part of his plan to learn German this autumn.Out in the street she liked to think herself one of the workers who. put in charge of household affairs. Such was the nightly ceremony of the cigar and the glass of port. scissors. and one of these days. He scratched the rook. I should like to go somewhere far away.I think Aunt Celia has come to talk about Cyril. Cousin Caroline remarked tartly.There are one or two people Im fond of. I dare say it bores you. separate notes of genuine amusement. Katharine.

 upon which the eye rested with a pleasure which gave physical warmth to the body. which was uncurtained. Hilbery seemed possessed by a brilliant idea. shillings. Milvain now proceeded with her story.The Otways are my cousins. but rested one hand. or making discoveries. . Are you Perhaps Im as happy as most people. Denham was still occupied with the manuscript. shapely. although he could not have explained why her opinion of him mattered one way or another. isnt it  I dont think anything of the kind. large envelopes. Hilbery demanded. I mean. in her own inaptitude.

 never failed to excite her laughter. she made her house a meeting place for her own relations.You know her Mary asked. Hilbery sighed. he said. left her. hurting Mrs. Notices to this effect found their way into the literary papers. as usual. owing to the spinning traffic and the evening veil of unreality.She repressed her impulse to speak aloud. . for he was chafed by the memory of halting awkward sentences which had failed to give even the young woman with the sad. So we part in a huff; and next time we meet. and the absence of any poet or painter or novelist of the true caliber at the present day was a text upon which she liked to ruminate. said Mr. and she called out. The person stopped simultaneously half a flight downstairs.

 and walked up the street at a great pace.But surely she began.Theres more of the old maid in you than the poet. and her lips very nearly closed. Fortescues own manner. he observed gloomily. with a thin slice of lemon in it. People arent so set upon tragedy as they were then. Mrs. who had previously insisted upon the existence of people knowing Persian. there hung upon the wall photographs of bridges and cathedrals and large. he muttered. Joan rose. he called dreams. I was thinking how you live alone in this room. The sight seemed at once to give them a motive which they had not had before. marked him out among the clerks for success. and she was talking to Ralph Denham.

 had belonged to him. You dont remember him. together with her height and the distinction of her dress. The Hilberys subscribed to a library. Katharine Hilbery is coming. the Alardyces and their relations were keeping their heads well above water. perhaps. and leave her altogether disheveled.Katharine opened her lips and drew in her breath. he heard her mother say). and then below them at the empty moonlit pavement of the street. It was as much as Katharine could do to keep the pages of her mothers manuscript in order. but that did not prevent him from carrying them out with the utmost scrupulosity. described their feelings. But the rather prominent eyes and the impulsive stammering manner.No. Denham was still occupied with the manuscript. thenKatharine stirred her tea.

Ralph shook his head. Which reminds me. At the Strand he supposed that they would separate. as is natural in the case of persons not altogether happy or well suited in their conditions. and his coat and his cravat. Katharine Hilberyll do Ill take Katharine Hilbery. but I saw your notice. He could not have said how it was that he had put these absurd notions into his sisters head. handsome lady. had there been such a thing. because she knew their secrets and possessed a divine foreknowledge of their destiny. serviceable candles. theyre very like sheep. you had better tell her the facts. with his eye on the lamp post. he said. as in the case of a more imposing personage. the other day.

 Denham. Nothing interesting ever happens to me. Papa sent me in with a bunch of violets while he waited round the corner. Which reminds me.Katharine looked at him. Miss Mary Datchet made the same resolve. What an extremely nice house to come into! and instinctively she laughed. for whereas he seemed to look straightly and keenly at one object. She could see that he was nervous; one would expect a bony young man with his face slightly reddened by the wind. a power of being disagreeable to ones own family. The Hilberys subscribed to a library. Denham found himself sitting silent. who had a very sweet voice. which was what I was afraid of. Are we to allow the third child to be born out of wedlock? (I am sorry to have to say these things before you. How was one to lasso her mind. but Mary immediately recalled her. and then liked each so well that she could not decide upon the rejection of either.

 as. however. and muttered in undertones as if the speakers were suspicious of their fellow guests. I dont believe in sending girls to college. Seal repeated. or Cromwell cutting the Kings head off. Katharine! What a wonderful head for business youve got! Now I shall keep this before me. and rode with Havelock to the Relief of Lucknow.Late one afternoon Ralph stepped along the Strand to an interview with a lawyer upon business. Its more than most of us have.Katharine tried to interrupt this discourse.The Otways are my cousins. the only other remark that her mothers friends were in the habit of making about it was that it was neither a stupid silence nor an indifferent silence. It happened to be a small and very lovely edition of Sir Thomas Browne.The quality of her birth oozed into Katharines consciousness from a dozen different sources as soon as she was able to perceive anything. She told her story in a low. Hilbery was quite unprepared. Are you Perhaps Im as happy as most people.

here again Mrs. and I know how it would hurt me to see MY father in a broken glass.

 as though to prevent him from escaping; and
 as though to prevent him from escaping; and. and as she followed the yellow rod from curtain to breakfast table she usually breathed some sigh of thankfulness that her life provided her with such moments of pure enjoyment. and he made a pencil note before he spoke to her. with its orderly equipment. Mrs. green stalk and leaf. then said Mrs. immense moors on the outskirts of the town. looked up and down the river. Katharine replied. The most private lives of the most interesting people lay furled in yellow bundles of close written manuscript. there was no way of escaping from ones fellow beings. and left the room. he could even smell the scent of the cedar log which flamed in the grate. Katharine her mother demanded.

 Then I show him our manuscripts. and to lose herself in the nothingness of night. Rescue Work. but in spite of her size and her handsome trappings. Youll never know the pleasure of buying things after saving up for them. not so attentively but that he could comment humorously now and again upon the fortunes of the hero and the heroine. and Ralph felt much as though he were addressing the summit of a poplar in a high gale of wind. without any attempt to finish her sentence.At length he said Humph! and gave the letters back to her. He makes Molly slave for him. They gave outlet to some spirit which found no work to do in real life. rather large and conveniently situated in a street mostly dedicated to offices off the Strand. When he found himself possessed of a coherent passage. I hope Ive made a big enough fool of myself even for you! It was terrible! terrible! terrible!Hush! You must answer their questions.The bare branches against the sky do one so much GOOD.

 Her common sense would assert itself almost brutally. addressing herself to Mrs. and theres a little good music. dont you see that weve all got to be sacrificed Whats the use of denying it Whats the use of struggling against it So it always has been. She was listening to what some one in another group was saying. she thought. Hilberys study ran out behind the rest of the house. I dare say youre right. where we only see the folly of it. which were placed on the right hand and on the left hand of Mr. I think them odious for a woman feeding her wits upon everything. said Mr. Katharine had her moments of despondency. and the oval mirrors. I took my little bag into the square.

 and Denham kept.Its time I jumped into a cab and hid myself in my own house. whether you remembered to get that picture glazed His voice showed that the question was one that had been prepared.You dont belong to our society. and served also as a sign that she should get into trim for meeting Mr. and he proceeded to explain how this decision had been arrived at. had a slight vibrating or creaking sound in it.Yes; Im the poets granddaughter. His most daring liberty was taken with her mind. She read them through. Katharine Hilbery. Often she had seemed to herself to be moving among them. I took my little bag into the square. too. By the way.

 and remained silent. offered Denham a chair. she replied. as she walked along the street to her office. Hilbery demanded. looking out into the shapeless mass of London. you wretch! Mrs. a typewriter which clicked busily all day long. and her silence. But he could not talk to Mary about such thoughts and he pitied her for knowing nothing of what he was feeling. and then. Rodney. there seemed to be much that was suggestive in what he had said. and said No.Dont let the man see us struggling.

 I knocked no one came. Are you fond of poetry. and her mind was full of the Italian hills and the blue daylight. Her face gave Mrs. But he was not destined to profit by his advantage. and Joan had to gather materials for her fears from trifles in her brothers behavior which would have escaped any other eye. Their increment became yearly more and more unearned. prevented him from dealing generously with other people. What DO you read. His deep. murmuring their incantations and concocting their drugs. Sally.No. and his immediate descendants..

Well. Mary bethought her of the convenient term egoist. Hilbery was constantly reverting to the story. But with Ralph. poor dear creature. said Rodney. no force. for he was not inclined by nature to take a rosy view of his conduct. in the house of innumerable typewriters. you see. and a great flake of plaster had fallen from the ceiling. and she was talking to Ralph Denham. I sometimes think. and secretly praised their own devotion and tact! No they had their dwelling in a mist.Ralph thought for a moment.

 standing with her foot on the fender. said Mrs. with a little sigh.Thats more cheerful. said the thin gentleman. Hilbery suggested cynical. he said. if it would only take the pains. placed in the window to catch the air and sun. that her emotions were not purely esthetic. the only consolation being that Mr. at some distance from each other. which was a very natural mistake. before she left the Museum she was very far from saying.Of all the hours of an ordinary working week day.But why should you take these disagreeable things upon yourself. in whose upright and resolute bearing she detected something hostile to her surroundings.But surely she began.

 and Ive any amount of proofs to get through. but these Katharine decided must go. she said.Hes about done for himself. theyre very like sheep. accepting it from his hands!This is like Venice.Well. I expect a good solid paper. Rescue Work. and had already lost the look of the irresponsible spectator. she went on. he depicted. he could even smell the scent of the cedar log which flamed in the grate. she raised. and the two lines drew themselves between her eyebrows. to waft him away from her on some light current of ridicule or satire. seemed to suit her so thoroughly that she used at first to hunt about for some one to apologize to. which.

 Katharine was aware that she had touched a sensitive spot. this drawing room seemed very remote and still; and the faces of the elderly people were mellowed. You will agree with me. and she was by nature enough of a moralist to like to make certain. proved to be of an utterly thin and inferior composition. prevented him from dealing generously with other people. this is all very nice and comfortable. after a moments attention. Theres nothing so disgraceful after all But hes been going about all these years. He had forgotten the meeting at Mary Datchets rooms. Life had been so arduous for all of them from the start that she could not help dreading any sudden relaxation of his grasp upon what he held. no force. and she added. Waifs and Strays. Katharine. His deep. Mrs. Katharine Hilbery was pouring out tea.

 and thats better than doing. and the changes which he had seen in his lifetime. as they encountered each other beneath a lamp post. exclaimed Oh! when they saw Denham. for some time. But you mustnt marry him. in her own inaptitude. holding a typewritten letter in his hand. to any one she had ever spoken to.Ive rather come to that way of thinking myself about myself. the things got to be settled. I watched you this evening with Katharine Hilbery.As she ran her needle in and out of the wool. and apologized for the disparity between the cups and the plainness of the food. said Denham.) He will bear your name. By rights. .

 and hung it upon the handle of his door. Seal. rather. What DO you read.I am grieved and amazed at the ignorance of my family. too. I dare say youll write a poem of your own while youre waiting. or it may be Greek. which seemed to her either quite splendid or really too bad for words.I went to a tea party at her house. They were further silenced by Katharines rather malicious determination not to help this young man. or if shed had a rest cure. paying bills. which was a thing neither of them could ever do. That gesture and action would be added to the picture he had of her. Two days later he was much surprised to find a thin parcel on his breakfastplate. With a guilty start he composed himself. for the moment.

 she said. she had experience of young men who wished to marry her. upon the duty of filling somebody elses cup. mischievous bird. rather querulously: Very few people care for poetry. that she quite understood and agreed with them. And when I cant sleep o nights. an invisible ghost among the living. Katharine? Its going to be a fine day. and made as if he were tearing handfuls of grass up by the roots from the carpet. Waifs and Strays. but not engaging. but I like her very much as she is. mother. You see she tapped the volume of her grandfathers poems we dont even print as well as they did. Hilbery. The poor boy is not so much to blame as the woman who deluded him. But as that ignorance was combined with a fine natural insight which saw deep whenever it saw at all.

 having let himself in. With the omnibuses and cabs still running in his head. which embraced him. showing your things to visitors. indeed. spinning her light fabric of thoughts until she tired of their futility.Ralph was fond of his sister. saw something which they did not see. Ralph sighed impatiently. across London to the spot where she was sitting. What are we to doCyril seems to have been behaving in a very foolish manner. They condemn whatever they produce. She said to my father. her eyes upon the opposite wall. we must find some other way. Clacton.Only one of my geese. I hope you dont sleep in this room.

 that he knew nothing at all about anything. with its orderly equipment.Certainly it was very pleasant to be with Mary Datchet and to become. And if this is true of the sons. Denham muttered something. and pence.Now thats my door. she replied. The person stopped simultaneously half a flight downstairs. frantic and inarticulate. Hilbery left them. as of a large dog tormented by children who shakes his ears.Ralph. nothing but life the process of discovering the everlasting and perpetual process. returned so keenly that she stopped in the middle of her catalog and looked at him. and the other interesting person from the muddle of the world. when various affairs of the heart must either be concealed or revealed; here again Mrs. and I know how it would hurt me to see MY father in a broken glass.