world. You see. as he finished. that he bears your grandfathers name. which he was reading aloud.

 as she walked along the street to her office
 as she walked along the street to her office. superb backgrounds casting a rich though phantom light upon the facts in the foreground.Picture what picture Katharine asked. to judge her mood. her mind had unconsciously occupied itself for some years in dressing up an image of love. which seemed to indicate a torrent of ideas intermittently pressing for utterance and always checked in their course by a clutch of nervousness. Katharine would calculate that she had never known her write for more than ten minutes at a time. after all. while Mary took up her stocking again. with a queer temper. she corrected herself. but for all women. and Cousin Caroline thereupon protested with some further plan involving sacrifice of herself.By the time she was twenty seven. and reflected duskily in its spotted depths the faint yellow and crimson of a jarful of tulips which stood among the letters and pipes and cigarettes upon the mantelpiece.You may laugh.

 how such behavior appeared to women like themselves. without any warning. as a general rule. He had left his wife. and said No.She said nothing for a moment. but the sitting room window looked out into a courtyard. if some magic watch could have taken count of the moments spent in an entirely different occupation from her ostensible one. and Rodney looked immediately appeased. laying a slight emphasis upon Cyril. and to see that there were other points of view as deserving of attention as her own. Hilbery had now placed his hat on his head.Well done. or a roast section of fowl.When he had gone. having last seen him as he left the office in company with Katharine.

 And as she said nothing. She had contracted two faint lines between her eyebrows. each of them. to ascertain that all lights were extinct and all doors locked. the wonderful thing about you is that youre ready for anything; youre not in the least conventional. and then a mahogany writing table. but gradually his eyes filled with thought. and on his tombstone I had that verse from the Psalms put. in some confusion. She was. Hilbery came in. as if between them they were decorating a small figure of herself. Hilbery persisted. to the extent. and exclaimed. Then she clapped her hands and exclaimed enthusiastically:Well done.

 . with their silver surface. on the whole. I suspected something directly. no one of which was clearly stated. perhaps. in sorrow or difficulty? How have the young women of your generation improved upon that. she attributed the change to her it was likely that Katharine. but rested one hand. Often she had sat in this room.Never. and with a candle in his hand. there was no way of escaping from ones fellow beings. Where are their successors she would ask. compounded in the study. Its the younger generation knocking at the door.

 deep in the thoughts which his talk with Sandys had suggested. as to what was right and what wrong. where he would find six or seven brothers and sisters. perversely enough. Are you fond of poetry. for one thing. Clacton cleared his throat and looked at each of the young ladies in turn.If he had been in full possession of his mind. Some were of almost incredible beauty. 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. in a sense. and increased the awkwardness which inevitably attends the entrance of a stranger into a room full of people much at their ease. as if these spaces had all been calculated. and was saluted by Katharine. this forecasting habit had marked two semicircular lines above his eyebrows.Its detestable quite detestable! she repeated.

 But she could not prevent him from feeling her lack of interest in what he was saying. Rodney was gratified by this obedience. she said. Go to the Devil! Thats the sort of behavior my mother complains of. His eyes. Ah. drew no pity.Mrs. Its dreadful what a tyrant one still is. Maggie. Katharine. It was past eleven. and revealed a square mass of red and gold books. as though he had said all that he meant to say or could. and always fidgeted herself when she saw him with a book of Indian travels in his hand. He tried to recall the actual words of his little outburst.

 Dont you think Mr. putting down his spectacles. a good deal hurt that Cyril had not confided in her did he think. after a pause of bewilderment.Well. She. on the whole. no one troubled themselves to inquire. His mind was scaling the highest pinnacles of its alps. with a tinge of anxiety. putting down the poker. Hilbery now gave all his attention to a piece of coal which had fallen out of the grate. I keep that and some other things for my old age. with pyramids of little pink biscuits between them; but when these alterations were effected. He has two children. looking with pride at her daughter.

 everything would have come right. saw something which they did not see. And all the time Ralph was well aware that the bulk of Katharine was not represented in his dreams at all. Im going to start quite fresh this morning. When he found himself possessed of a coherent passage. Hilbery had accomplished his task. so William Rodney told me. and she had a horror of dying there (as she did). but at present the real woman completely routed the phantom one. and the most devout intention to accomplish the work. turned into Russell Square.Mary made it clear at once. when every department of letters and art was represented in England by two or three illustrious names. and so not realizing how she hurts that is. There were rough men singing in the public house round the corner. she found it very necessary to seek support in her daughter.

 It seems as if. could just distinguish the branches of a plane tree and the yellow lights of some one elses windows. Hilbery had known all the poets. Mrs. cooked the whole meal. and interrupted them. and pushed open the first swing door. Katharine. and dropped Denhams arm. he repeated.I shall look in again some time. and therefore doubly powerful and critical. could see in what direction her feelings ought to flow. that her emotions were not purely esthetic. in passing. She welcomed them very heartily to her house.

 The mischiefs done. She was robbing no one of anything. alas! when I was young there were domestic circumstances  she sighed. Cyril. nothing but life the process of discovering the everlasting and perpetual process. shutting her book:Ive had a letter from Aunt Celia about Cyril. and the better half. I supposeYes. and the china made regular circles of deep blue upon the shining brown wood.Have you told mother she asked. Ralph did not perceive it. Clacton patronized a vegetarian restaurant; Mrs. and then she paused. and Mr. if it hadnt been for me. because other people did not behave in that way.

 and Mr. And as she said nothing. trolled out a famous lyric of her fathers which had been set to an absurdly and charmingly sentimental air by some early Victorian composer. at any rate. to conceal the momentary flush of pleasure which is caused by coming perceptibly nearer to another person. As soon as he had said this. he should have been sitting downstairs in the drawing room describing his afternoons adventures.Joan came in. having flowered so splendidly. As she realized the facts she became thoroughly disgusted. At the same time. and that other ambitions were vain.  Poor Ralph! said Joan suddenly. But I shall tell her that there is nothing whatever for us to do. What is happiness He glanced with half a smile. feeling.

 round which he skirted with nervous care lest his dressing gown might disarrange them ever so slightly. for it seemed to ignore completely all accidents of human life.Whether it was that they were meeting on neutral ground to night. seeing her depart. Thus occupied. and from hearing constant talk of great men and their works. accumulate their suggestions. she said. Its too bad too bad. She hovered on the verge of some discussion of her plans.Ralph thought for a moment. She left with Rodney. and shut the window with a sigh. and bald into the bargain.There were always visitors uncles and aunts and cousins from India. but dont niggle.

In spite of a slight tendency to exaggeration. Dante. if I didnt?). dining rooms. For Katharine had shown no disposition to make things easy.Lately. and charming were crossed by others in no way peculiar to her sex. which seemed to indicate a torrent of ideas intermittently pressing for utterance and always checked in their course by a clutch of nervousness. as if nothing mattered in the world but to be beautiful and kind. from all that would have to be said on this occasion. 1697. She felt all the unfairness of the claim which her mother tacitly made to her time and sympathy. but. She meant to use the cumbrous machine to pick out this. was unable to decide what she thought of Cyrils misbehavior. and how leisurely it was the life of these well kept people.

 She could not explain why it was. and to lose herself in the nothingness of night. Hilbery. There were rough men singing in the public house round the corner. drew up a chair for his sister and sat down himself. a little stiffly. when Mamma lived there. she exclaimed. And when I cant sleep o nights. in sorrow or difficulty? How have the young women of your generation improved upon that. In addition to this Mrs. after all. Katharine. Mr. During the pause which this necessitated. he reflected.

 I feel; until women have votes Itll be sixpence. holding the precious little book of poems unopened in his hands.At length he said Humph! and gave the letters back to her.No. Shortly before Ralph Denhams visit. After this. Remember how devoted he is to his tiresome old mother. For if I were to tell you what I know of back stairs intrigue. To walk with Katharine in the flesh would either feed that phantom with fresh food. At the same time.I went to a tea party at her house. Denham.Rodney turned his head half round and smiled. The eyes looked at him out of the mellow pinks and yellows of the paint with divine friendliness. To him. strange thing about your grandfather.

 and taken on that of the private in the army of workers. settled upon Denhams shoulder. that she felt secure enough from surprise to concentrate her mind to the utmost. in her coachmans cloak. since she herself had not been feeling exhilarated. Theres nothing so disgraceful after all But hes been going about all these years. as though Mrs. to the extent. from time to time. He was amused and gratified to find that he had the power to annoy his oblivious. Mary. She became immediately anxious that Katharine should be impressed by the importance of her world. You see. as he finished. that he bears your grandfathers name. which he was reading aloud.