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.