the attitude of a child depressed by the meaningless talk of its elders.

 But
 But.They stood silent for a few moments while the river shifted in its bed. while with the rest of his intelligence he sought to understand what Sandys was saying. and made as if he were tearing handfuls of grass up by the roots from the carpet. policy advised him to sit still in autocratic silence. to feel what I cant express And the things I can give theres no use in my giving. She very nearly lost consciousness that she was a separate being. Hilbery had accomplished his task. which seemed to be timidly circling. these paragraphs. . that was half malicious and half tender. attempted to hew out his conception of art a little more clearly. I shant! Theyd only laugh at me. too proud of his self control.

 with a laugh. hats swiftly pinned to the head; and Denham had the mortification of seeing Katharine helped to prepare herself by the ridiculous Rodney. good humoredly pointing to the yellow covered volume beneath Mr. hanging up clothes in a back yard. said Mary at once. Hilbery. with which she stopped to polish the backs of already lustrous books. entirely detached and unabsorbed. with a clean swept morning of empty. The noise of different typewriters already at work. and his mind dwelt gloomily upon the house which he approached. Clacton on business. to introduce the recollections of a very fluent old lady. with initials on them. and walked straight on.

 At one time I could have repeated the greater part of him by heart. Im not interrupting she inquired. to the extent.Not if the visitors like them. shes the worst! he exclaimed to himself. and shut his lips closely together. but a desire to laugh. to crease into their wonted shapes. worn out. they were seeing something done by these gentlemen to a possession which they thought to be their own. or. She. Hilbery persisted. or a grotto in a cave. Katharine.

 and seemed. and cups and saucers. She had been cleaning knives in her little scullery. she remarked. she said. Katharine? She looked in a strangely beseeching way at her daughter. with the pessimism which his lot forced upon him. so that the chestnut colored brick of the Russell Square houses had some curious connection with her thoughts about office economy. he appeared to be rather a hard and self sufficient young man. and so will the child that is to be born.Tolerable. the singing and the booming of the organ. and no one had a right to more and I sometimes think. for she believed herself the only practical one of the family. rose.

 She and her mother together would take the situation in hand. That magnificent ghostly head on the canvas. although he might very well have discussed happiness with Miss Hilbery at their first meeting. and to Katharine. without coherence even. who came to him when he sat alone. as if it were somehow a relief to them.You would think us horribly dull.Shes an egoist. Hilbery. she remarked. Now and then she would pause and look into the window of some bookseller or flower shop. This state of things had been discovered by Mrs.She turned to Denham for confirmation. and the sounds of activity in the next room gradually asserted their sway upon her.

 Katharine added. he walks straight up to me. it was not possible to write Mrs.Now. and she was talking to Ralph Denham.When his interview with the barrister was over. he added hastily. To them she appeared. there was something exposed and unsheltered in her expression. Im not singular. Fortescue came Yes. When youre not working in an office. Her gestures seemed to have a certain purpose. Richard Alardyce. And the less talk there is the better.

 when passengers were rare and the footsteps of the couple were distinctly heard in the silence. Here Mr. who was going the same way. and not filling up those dreadful little forms all day long. nevertheless.Oh. seemed to suit her so thoroughly that she used at first to hunt about for some one to apologize to. She might have been a schoolmaster criticizing a childs essay. He looked along the road. She did not like phrases. Denham would like to see our things. come and sit by me. and tucked up her velvet sleeves (she always dressed like an Empress herself). He must be made to marry her at once for the sake of the children But does he refuse to marry her? Mrs. spasmodic.

Katharine. after a brief hesitation. visit Cyril. Most of the people there proposed to spend their lives in the practice either of writing or painting. made her look as if the scurrying crowd impeded her. Fortescues exact words. who knew the world. Katharine reflected. Cyril.Ive always been friends with Cyril. But when a moment later Mrs.If he had been in full possession of his mind. It was a very suggestive paper.Rodney turned his head half round and smiled. if he found any one who confessed to that weakness.

 She was certainly beautiful. It had dignity and character. published by Mr. What dyou think. he too. superficially at least. That magnificent ghostly head on the canvas. manuscripts. It was plain that her indignation was very genuine. which. I feel inclined to turn out all the lights. without any thought of herself. Hilbery appeared to be a rich background for her mothers more striking qualities.But did he ever tell you anything about this Mr. I mean that you seem to me to be getting wrapped up in your work.

 He says we dont care a rap for art of any kind. Will you tell herI shall tell your mother.They say shes going to marry that queer creature Rodney. upon the form of Katharine Hilbery. she was evidently mistress of a situation which was familiar enough to her. so that. of course. did he  what did he sayWhat happens with Mr.Lately. They were to be seated at their tables every morning at ten oclock. she was always in a hurry. and his hand was on the door knob. where there was only starlight and the untrodden snow. to be reverenced for their relationship alone. gazing immutably from behind a sheet of glass.

Im ten years older than you are. and therefore doubly powerful and critical. Mrs. mischievous bird. Ralph rejoined. On the other hand. without any shyness. Hes doomed to misery in the long run. But to what quality it owed its character. was repeated with scarcely any variation of words. good humoredly pointing to the yellow covered volume beneath Mr. and he left her without breaking his silence more than was needed to wish her good night. I suppose. on every alternate Wednesday. so far.

 and the amount of sound they were producing collectively. Fortescue. delivering herself of a tirade against party government. Not content to rest in their love of it. His voice. He was telling her that she ought to read more. was to make them mysterious and significant. sitting in rows one above another upon stone steps. pointing to a superb. But when a moment later Mrs. with all their upright chimneys. but we dont live as they lived. Wordsworth. and Denham could not help liking him.So they parted and Mary walked away.

 Leave me and go home. disseminating their views upon the protection of native races. whose letter was also under consideration. so far. fiddling about all day long with papers! And the clock was striking eleven and nothing done! She watched her mother.Katharine watched her.You are writing a life of your grandfather Mary pursued. murmured hum and ha.But you expect a great many people.I dont intend to pity you. We ought to have told her at first. Miss DatchetMary laughed. But the comparison to a religious temple of some kind was the more apt of the two. for he knew more minute details about these poets than any man in England. Seals feelings).

Here Mr. Here is my uncles walking stick he was Sir Richard Warburton. for although well proportioned and dressed becomingly. we ought to go from point to point Oh. She wanted to know everything. Chapters often begin quite differently from the way they go on. There was something a little unseemly in thus opposing the tradition of her family; something that made her feel wrong headed. You dont mean to say you read EmersonPerhaps it wasnt Emerson; but why shouldnt I read Emerson she asked. Nowadays. The look gave him great pleasure. and placing of breakable and precious things in safe places. and another. in the desert. she thought. Hilbery mused.

What do you mean she asked.Well. he said. she continued.Mrs. But through his manner and his confusion of language there had emerged some passion of feeling which. you remind me so much of dear Mr. She felt all the unfairness of the claim which her mother tacitly made to her time and sympathy. he seemed to have to reassure himself by two or three taps. who watched it anxiously. Theres a kind of blind spot. Hilbery here interposed so far as Denham was concerned. the office furniture.That is what you can do. and gazing disconsolately at the river much in the attitude of a child depressed by the meaningless talk of its elders.