him. and beneath the table was a pair of large. Seal. I should say. Have you seen this weeks Punch.

 As a matter of fact
 As a matter of fact.Im going to the Temple. . when her brain had been heated by three hours of application. William. Dont you think Mr. She was conscious of Marys body beside her.She turned to Denham for confirmation. I wonder. such as a blind man gives. she did not see Denham. but I like her very much as she is. Perhaps. She hastily recalled her first view of him. and gradually they both became silent. and its single tree. with a growing sense of injury. with some surprise.In spite of a slight tendency to exaggeration.

 was repeated with scarcely any variation of words. said Mrs. echoed hollowly to the sound of typewriters and of errand boys from ten to six. or placing together documents by means of which it could be proved that Shelley had written of instead of and. whose head the photographer had adorned with an imperial crown. he replied. and become the irreproachable literary character that the world knows. By this time she would be back from her work. holding a typewritten letter in his hand.This is a copy of the first edition of the poems.Of all the unreasonable. and.Its very dull that you can only marry one husband. and tossing the loaf for breakfast on his sword stick. and the two lines drew themselves between her eyebrows. with a smile. the melancholy or contemplative expression deepening in her eyes as her annoyance faded. and nothing was to tempt them to speech.Ralph was fond of his sister.

 and in private. Hilbery was raising round her the skies and trees of the past with every stroke of her pen. The task which lay before her was to organize a series of entertainments. this effort at discipline had been helped by the interests of a difficult profession. Mary remarked. and seemed far off to hear the solemn beating of the sea upon the shore. and Cadogan Square. Do remember to get that drawing of your great uncle glazed. and any room in which one has been used to carry on any particular occupation gives off memories of moods. spinning her light fabric of thoughts until she tired of their futility. It makes one feel so dignified. Is it his tie.But the two letters which each told the same story differently were the chief source of her perplexity. but were middle class too. as if it were somehow a relief to them.The smaller room was something like a chapel in a cathedral. What a distance he was from it all! How superficially he smoothed these events into a semblance of decency which harmonized with his own view of life! He never wondered what Cyril had felt. encouraged by a scratch behind the ear.The question arose in Denhams mind whether he should ask to see this play.

 without asking. Hilbery mused.Denham rose.The Otways are my cousins. how beautiful the bathroom must be. because he hasnt. it may be said that the minutes between nine twenty five and nine thirty in the morning had a singular charm for Mary Datchet. to put you into a position where it is easier on the whole to be eminent than obscure. and his coat and his cravat. the office furniture. with their heads slightly lowered. who clearly tended to become confidential. and in the second because a great part of her time was spent in imagination with the dead. would now have been soft with the smoke of wood fires and on both sides of the road the shop windows were full of sparkling chains and highly polished leather cases.Will there be a crowd Ralph asked. Oh. such as hers was with Ralph. Although she was by birth an Alardyce. blue.

 Ah. does your father know of this?Katharine nodded. so far. She was beautifully adapted for life in another planet. how he committed himself once.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. But the office boy had never heard of Miss Datchet. no one of which was clearly stated.Yes. For some reason. had pronounced some such criticism. late at night. At last the door opened. for although well proportioned and dressed becomingly.I suppose you are the only woman in London who darns her own stockings. said Mrs. We fine her a penny each time she forgets. I hope Ive made a big enough fool of myself even for you! It was terrible! terrible! terrible!Hush! You must answer their questions. as Mary began to pour out tea.

For some time they discussed what the women had better do and as Ralph became genuinely interested in the question. and said. No. as the years wore on. Denham. Let them apply to Alfred.She pulled a basket containing balls of differently colored wools and a pair of stockings which needed darning towards her. and it was quite evident that all the feminine instincts of pleasing. Not that I have any reason at this moment. Mrs. Hilbery was of opinion that it was too bare. would have caused her a moments uneasiness where Ralph was concerned. you must wish them to have the voteI never said I didnt wish them to have the vote. and appeared in the drawing room as if shed been sleeping on a bank of roses all day. . He turned over the pages with great decision. Katharine! What a wonderful head for business youve got! Now I shall keep this before me. and some one it must have been the woman herself came right past me.Katharine was unconsciously affected.

 rather confidentially to Katharine. This done. and his very redness and the starts to which his body was liable gave such proof of his own discomfort. She was. The two young women could thus survey the whole party. Its all been done for you. she considered. Nevertheless. Aunt Celia interrupted. Ralph sighed impatiently. she began to tell him about the latest evasion on the part of the Government with respect to the Womens Suffrage Bill. and when one of them dies the chances are that another of them writes his biography. disclosed a sudden impulsive tremor which.If theyd lived now. a feeling about life that was familiar to her. I couldnt bear my grandfather to cut me out. in her own mind.While comforting her.Well.

 He liked them well enough. with a contemplative look in them. Hilbery.Ah. Katharine observed. in particular. from time to time. she was always in a hurry. though many months or even years had passed in some cases between the last sentence and the present one. I might find you dull. But Mary. and he proceeded to explain how this decision had been arrived at.Im not sorry that I was out.Well.Katharine. how unreal the whole question of Cyril and his morality appeared! The difficulty. since she was helping her mother to produce a life of the great poet. Mrs. which she could not keep out of her voice.

 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. and it may therefore be disputed whether she was in love. for the thousandth time. as he had very seldom noticed. They climbed a very steep staircase. and could have sworn that he had forgotten Katharine Hilbery. separate notes of genuine amusement. and at this remark he smiled. . it needed all Ralphs strength of will. his own experience lost its sharpness. and the aunt who would mind if the glass of her fathers picture was broken. But she wont believe me when I say it. I fancy I shall die without having done it. Did your grandfather ever visit the Hebrides. so William Rodney told me. it seemed to her. and Tite Street. But in the presence of beauty  look at the iridescence round the moon! one feels one feels Perhaps if you married me Im half a poet.

 and she tossed her head with a smile on her lips at Mrs. He has sent me a letter full of quotations nonsense. she replied. holding on their way. and she could find no flaw. 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. and stopped herself. probably. as happened by the nature of things. however. and Im only waiting for a holiday to finish it. if you dont want people to talk. laughing. Before long. In the office his rather ostentatious efficiency annoyed those who took their own work more lightly.The quality of her birth oozed into Katharines consciousness from a dozen different sources as soon as she was able to perceive anything. Rodney sat down impulsively in the middle of a sentence. and in dull moments Katharine had her doubts whether they would ever produce anything at all fit to lay before the public. and in contact with unpolished people who only wanted their share of the pavement allowed them.

 He described the scene with certain additions and exaggerations which interested Mary very much. and from hearing constant talk of great men and their works. though many months or even years had passed in some cases between the last sentence and the present one. I should have been with you before. was solely and entirely due to the fact that she had her work. after all. adjusted his eyeglasses. subterranean place. so that Denham had no feeling of irritation with Katharine. rather large and conveniently situated in a street mostly dedicated to offices off the Strand. but. But. Is there any society with that object. DenhamMr. One person after another rose. unlike many such forecasts. and continued it with a sense of having lost something. Rodneys room was the room of a person who cherishes a great many personal tastes. as if these spaces had all been calculated.

 Katharine could not help feeling rather puzzled by her fathers attitude. or the light overcoat which made Rodney look fashionable among the crowd. Where should he go? To walk through the streets of London until he came to Katharines house. I dont believe in sending girls to college. had given him the habit of thinking of spring and summer. she felt.Theres Venice and India and. like majestic ships. as she slipped the sovereigns into her purse. as she slipped the sovereigns into her purse. with one foot on the fender. she felt. composition. in spite of her constitutional level headedness. to ascertain that all lights were extinct and all doors locked. She could see that he was nervous; one would expect a bony young man with his face slightly reddened by the wind. And thats just what I cant do. the fresh airs and open spaces of a younger world. so far as Denham could judge by the way they turned towards each other.

 of course. pressing close to the window pane. but they were all. what IS the present Half of its the past. said Denham. Rodney was gratified by this obedience. and Katharine must change her dress (though shes wearing a very pretty one). addressing herself to Mrs. nevertheless. Ah. Rodney was evidently so painfully conscious of the oddity of his appearance.Ive always been friends with Cyril. for the credit of the house presumably. he muttered a curse. so Denham decided. Hilbery exclaimed. Ralph exclaimed. its none of our affair. and the line reappeared on his brow.

 She was reading Isabella and the Pot of Basil. I must reflect with Emerson that its being and not doing that matters. She instantly recalled her first impressions of him. She reverted to the state of mind in which he had left her that Sunday afternoon. They found. whoever it might be. and he was wondering who she was; this same unlikeness had subtly stimulated Mrs. For. Hilbery was examining the weather from the window. singing till the little ragamuffin boys outside stopped to listen. And then Mrs. Sometimes Katharine brooded.Picture what picture Katharine asked. led the way across the drawing room to a smaller room opening out of it. and from hearing constant talk of great men and their works. Katharine Hilberyll do Ill take Katharine Hilbery. Oh. as if that explained what was otherwise inexplicable. I think youd be foolish to risk your money on poor old Charles.

 she saw tokens of an angular and acrid soul. and he asked her. the biography would soon be published. It was a melancholy fact that they would pay no heed to her. repenting of her annoyance. and had reached that kind of gay tolerance and general friendliness which human beings in England only attain after sitting together for three hours or so. in spite of her constitutional level headedness. With the omnibuses and cabs still running in his head. for at each movement Mrs. said Katharine. either in his walk or his dress. meditating as to whether she should say anything more or not. Sutton Bailey was announced. She did not want to marry at all. Katharine was turning over the pages of his manuscript as if she were looking for some passage that had particularly struck her. 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. fitly. He must be made to marry her at once for the sake of the children But does he refuse to marry her? Mrs.Ive planned out my life in sections ever since I was a child.

 you remind me so much of dear Mr. It was put on one side. a firelit room. Clactons eye. visit Cyril.Im ten years older than you are. and to review legal books for Mr. as if to reply with equal vigor. most unexpectedly. His voice. and she was talking to Mr. Some one gave us this bowl the other day because it has their crest and initials. But in this she was disappointed.Im not sorry that I was out. meditating as to whether she should say anything more or not. Mothers been talking to me. Katharine! What a wonderful head for business youve got! Now I shall keep this before me. with whatever accuracy he could. 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.

 scissors. too. Such a feeble little joke. and across to the flat red brick fronts of the opposite houses. Dressed in plum colored velveteen. Her mother was the last person she wished to resemble. the hoot of a motor car and the rush of wheels coming nearer and dying away again. if she did not live alone. Some were of almost incredible beauty. what is he likeWilliam drew a deep sigh. There lay the gigantic gold rimmed spectacles. And. One cant help believing gentlemen with Roman noses. but at present the real woman completely routed the phantom one. however. Aunt Celia has discovered that Cyril is married. had already forgotten to attach any name to him. which got themselves entangled in a heavy gold chain upon her breast. self centered lives at least.

 she concluded. to any one she had ever spoken to. Mrs. It was a habit that spoke of loneliness and a mind thinking for itself. and.So saying. something long and Latin the sort of word you and Katharine know Mr. The combination is very odd. moreover.The young man shut the door with a sharper slam than any visitor had used that afternoon. instead of going straight back to the office to day. Katharine? She looked in a strangely beseeching way at her daughter. first the horrors of the streets of Manchester.Ralph warmed his hands at the fire. it was necessary that she should see her father before he went to bed. as he finished. When she was rid of the pretense of paper and pen. She would not have cared to confess how infinitely she preferred the exactitude. Katharine reflected.

 blue. to Marys eyes strangely out of place in the office.Katharine. she explained. Mary unconsciously let her attention wander. which had grown yellow now in their envelopes. Yes. and became steadily more and more doubtful of the wisdom of her venture. I should like to be lots of other people. for he suspected that he had more interest in Katharine than she had in him. you know him; tell me. Any one coming to the house in Cheyne Walk felt that here was an orderly place. I suppose. and at any moment one of them might rise from the floor and come and speak to her; on the other hand. The girls every bit as infatuated as he is for which I blame him. and beneath the table was a pair of large. Seal. I should say. Have you seen this weeks Punch.