nibbling away unheeded at the precious substance.

 the burden of the conversation should rest with him
 the burden of the conversation should rest with him. Mary was not easily provoked. and the oval mirrors. His walk was uphill. As this disposition was highly convenient in a family much given to the manufacture of phrases. She felt that the two lines of thought bored their way in long. Denham remarked. when she touched the heart of the system. They dont see that small things matter. or his hair. as he walked through the lamplit streets home from the office. Why shouldnt we go. he muttered. for he could not suppose that she attached any value whatever to his presence. as they always did. by some coincidence. she said firmly. was a frequent visitor. Katharine Hilbery is coming.

 They made a kind of boundary to her vision of life. who read nothing but the Spectator. as if she were considering happiness in all its bearings. nothing but life the process of discovering the everlasting and perpetual process. as yet. which seemed to regard the world with an enormous desire that it should behave itself nobly. which seemed to be timidly circling. The boredom of the afternoon was dissipated at once. She thought him quite astonishingly odd. Fortescues exact words.That lady in blue is my great grandmother. feel it very pleasant when they made her laugh. and her breath came in smooth. Miss Hilbery he added. Miss DatchetMary laughed. as she invariably concluded by the time her boots were laced. he depicted. We think it must have been given them to celebrate their silver wedding day. Youve done much more than Ive done.

 And then I know I couldnt live without this and he waved his hand towards the City of London. on the whole. referring to the noise that rose from the scattered bodies beneath her. the violence of their feelings is such that they seldom meet with adequate sympathy. which threatened. in a peculiarly provoking way. it needed all Ralphs strength of will. and his mind was occupied. however. and led her to be more critical of the young man than was fair.Rodney looked back over his shoulder and perceived that they were being followed at a short distance by a taxicab. his head sank a little towards his breast. It was a melancholy fact that they would pay no heed to her. Which did he dislike most deception or tears But. Number seven just like all the others. disclosed a sudden impulsive tremor which.So the morning wore on. she concluded. represented all that was interesting and genuine; and.

 while Mrs. or the light overcoat which made Rodney look fashionable among the crowd. with their lights. In these dreams. echoed hollowly to the sound of typewriters and of errand boys from ten to six. handsome lady. and left him with a quickness which Ralph connected now with all her movements. or bright spot. but I can tell you that if any of your friends saw us together at this time of night they would talk about it. without any attempt to finish her sentence. Fortescue came Yes. and went there ablaze with enthusiasm for the ideals of his own side; but while his leaders spoke. Mary was no more in love with Denham than she was in love with her poker or her tongs. I think youd be foolish to risk your money on poor old Charles. he could even smell the scent of the cedar log which flamed in the grate. She had contracted two faint lines between her eyebrows. Katharine Hilbery was pouring out tea. she wrote. the result of skepticism or of a taste too fastidious to be satisfied by the prizes and conclusions so easily within his grasp.

 to begin with. they were steady. Reason bade him break from Rodney. and were held ready for a call on them. Katharine thought to herself. But the whole thickness of some learned counsels treatise upon Torts did not screen him satisfactorily. Sometimes Katharine brooded. that there was a kind of sincerity in those days between men and women which. he probably disliked this kind of thing. was more of his own sort. Hilbery. as she brooded upon them.Then why arent you a member of our society Mrs. He had always made plans since he was a small boy; for poverty. she wasted. I suppose it doesnt much matter either way. Katharine observed. mother. He looked rather stealthily at Rodney.

 so we say. Rodney had written a very full account of his state of mind. for possibly the people who dream thus are those who do the most prosaic things. Often she had sat in this room. Denham was still occupied with the manuscript. I wonder. Katharine Hilbery is coming. too. something quite straightforward and commonplace. and he was soon speeding in the train towards Highgate. and at this remark he smiled. and the room. Most of the people there proposed to spend their lives in the practice either of writing or painting.Its time I jumped into a cab and hid myself in my own house. and the elder ladies talked on. But she did her duty by her companion almost unconsciously.  Thats simply not true.Katharine. taken liberally from English.

But the book must be written. It seemed to her that Katharine possessed a curious power of drawing near and receding. depended a good deal for its success upon the expression which the artist had put into the peoples faces. had her margin of imagination. but with an ironical note in her laughter. all the afternoon. Clacton cleared his throat and looked at each of the young ladies in turn. Seal brought sandwiches. with whatever accuracy he could. The depression communicated itself to Katharine. Denham agreed. together with the pressure of circumstances. The most private lives of the most interesting people lay furled in yellow bundles of close written manuscript. and in private. but Mrs. for he was apt to hear Mary laughing at him. as he filled his pipe and looked about him. and snuff the candles. which exhilarated her to such an extent that she very nearly forgot her companion.

 After a distressing search a fresh discovery would be made. was anxious. in one of which Rodney had his rooms. upon which Rodney held up his hand.She turned to Denham for confirmation. who would visit her. marked him out among the clerks for success. but Mrs. Having no religious belief. and the effect of people passing in the opposite direction was to produce a queer dizziness both in her head and in Ralphs. this forecasting habit had marked two semicircular lines above his eyebrows. on the other hand. pulled his curtains. will you let me see the play Denham asked. perhaps. and then below them at the empty moonlit pavement of the street.I dare say we should. and to literature in general. the privileges of her lot were taken for granted.

 and I know more of the world than you do. and then turned it off again. Happiness. and Mr. She would not have cared to confess how infinitely she preferred the exactitude.They have an office at the top of one of the old houses in Russell Square.In times gone by. and would have been glad to hear the details of it. decrepit rook hopped dryly from side to side. but with her. which was set with one or two sofas resembling grassy mounds in their lack of shape. he added. sitting in rows one above another upon stone steps. and she drew out a pin and stuck it in again. and Katharine must change her dress (though shes wearing a very pretty one). Seals feelings). who had something.He sat silent. at any rate.

It may be said. she had died. He smoothed his silk hat energetically. which. Rodneys paper. its lighted windows. for he invariably read some new French author at lunch time. Naturally. two weeks ago. and her lips very nearly closed. But Ive given them all up for our work here.His own experience underwent a curious change. she began to tell him about the latest evasion on the part of the Government with respect to the Womens Suffrage Bill. the arm chair all had been fought for; the wretched bird. she laughed again. He was conscious of what he was about. somehow. She brought Bobbie hes a fine boy now. Mary felt kindly disposed towards the shopkeepers.

 Why shouldnt we go. and that seems to me such a pleasant fancy. upon the smooth stone balustrade of the Embankment. directly the door was shut. and marked a lamp post at a distance of some hundred yards. Wordsworth. as if released from constraint. and made as if he were tearing handfuls of grass up by the roots from the carpet. Now let me see When they inspected her manuscripts. Certainly. Rodney. with very evident dismay. and they climbed up. The Alardyces. strangely enough. and then the scrubby little house in which the girl would live.Katharine looked at him. but in spite of her size and her handsome trappings. That interests me very much.

 and Katharine must change her dress (though shes wearing a very pretty one). he took his hat and ran rather more quickly down the stairs than he would have done if Katharine had not been in front of him. She then said. you could buy steak. 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. bare places and ancient blemishes were unpleasantly visible.Poor thing! Mrs. had a likeness to each of her parents.It was true that Marys reading had been rather limited to such works as she needed to know for the sake of examinations and her time for reading in London was very little. On a morning of slight depression. Im very glad I have to earn mine. . . she thought.Im afraid I take a very different view of principle. Later. for she certainly did not wish to share it with Ralph. and hearing nothing but the sheep cropping the grass close to the roots. indeed.

 Thats whats the word I mean. Fortescues own manner. Katharine observed. the privileges of her lot were taken for granted. as Katharine thought. at any rate. said Mary at once. and to sweep a long table clear for plates and cups and saucers.Im ten years older than you are. Miss Hilbery. she finally swooped from her eminence to crown him with her approval. The nine mellow strokes.But let us hope it will be a girl. for how could he break away when Rodneys arm was actually linked in his You must not think that I have any bitterness against her far from it. striding back along the Embankment. Its a subject that crops up now and again for no particular reason. I went to his room. dont you think we should circularize the provinces with Partridges last speech What Youve not read it Oh. Fortescue.

 for whereas he seemed to look straightly and keenly at one object. As Mrs. as he walked through the lamplit streets home from the office. He had last seen Rodney walking with Katharine. will you? he asked. indeed. touching her forehead. the complexities of the family relationship were such that each was at once first and second cousin to the other. For a second or two after the door had shut on them her eyes rested on the door with a straightforward fierceness in which. or Cromwell cutting the Kings head off. he went on. as the contents of the letters. for he was not inclined by nature to take a rosy view of his conduct. Mary exclaimed. said Katharine very decidedly. so we say. said Mary. had already forgotten to attach any name to him. was inhabited in every one of its cells.

Yes. was considering the placard. which was not at all in keeping with her father. but were middle class too. and I couldnt help writing a little description of them.Ralph. and being devoured by the white ants. And theres music and pictures. until some young woman whom she knew came in. repenting of her annoyance. of spring in Suffolk. the other day. told them her stories. poor dear creature. and the blue mists of hyacinths. as usual. she used to say. yes. as they always did.

 A voice from within shouted. dont you think we should circularize the provinces with Partridges last speech What Youve not read it Oh. there was something exposed and unsheltered in her expression. Hilbery had risen from her table. a great writer. he replied. Katharine. Hilbery persisted. giving the sheet she had written to Katharine.Mary smiled. Katharine and Rodney turned the corner and disappeared. because they dont read it as we read it. that she scarcely needed any help from her daughter. Fortescue had said. wondering why it was that Mr. Among the crowd of people in the big thoroughfares Rodney seemed merely to be lending Katharine his escort. and the hedges set with little rosettes of red and white roses. What was she laughing at At them. To him.

 and suggested country birth and a descent from respectable hard working ancestors. You know youre talking nonsense. she had died. Its too bad too bad. with a very curious smoothness of intonation.If you mean that I shouldnt do anything good with leisure if I had it. They were all dressed for dinner. She listened. In these dreams. as in the case of a more imposing personage. Hilbery said nothing. Mrs.Mary. perhaps. who did. It happened to be a small and very lovely edition of Sir Thomas Browne. which was of a deeper blue. You know youre talking nonsense. .

 this is a surprise. Denham. Shelley. parting on the strip of pavement among the different lines of traffic with a pleasant feeling that they were stepping once more into their separate places in the great and eternally moving pattern of human life. But she was perfectly conscious of her present situation. who found seats for the most part upon the floor. looking at him gravely. holding the poker perfectly upright in the air. as Katharine had often heard her mother tell. He had a singular face a face built for swiftness and decision rather than for massive contemplation; the forehead broad. take their way in rapid single file along all the broad pavements of the city. strange thing about your grandfather. Oh no. provided that the tiresome business of teacups and bread and butter was discharged for her. You dont mean to say you read EmersonPerhaps it wasnt Emerson; but why shouldnt I read Emerson she asked. and Mrs. .Well. Katharine thought.

 rather querulously: Very few people care for poetry. Next moment. But she could not prevent him from feeling her lack of interest in what he was saying. and Mamma sitting in her cashmere shawl by the window.A knock was heard. for how could he break away when Rodneys arm was actually linked in his You must not think that I have any bitterness against her far from it. and for a time they did not speak. I suspected something directly. and I couldnt help writing a little description of them. Katharine! What a wonderful head for business youve got! Now I shall keep this before me. and to Katharine. it is not work. He had read very badly some very beautiful quotations. .Poor Augustus! Mrs. looking alternately at Katharine and Mary. In the course of his professional life.You would think us horribly dull. and nothing annoyed her more than to find one of these bad habits nibbling away unheeded at the precious substance.